


Everything Simplifies

by Rikkapikasnikka



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dance parties, F/M, Gen, Movie Nights, Original Akuma, Songfic but not really, Stereotypical MLB Fanfic Tropes, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:00:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 58,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23183656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikkapikasnikka/pseuds/Rikkapikasnikka
Summary: "I was turned down.""What?" Chat could feel his chest tightening."On Valentine's Day, I confessed to a boy, the one I have...had feelings for. He turned me down, said he was in love with someone else. He did it so gently too. He even apologised, Chat, and he was kind and considerate and I…" Ladybug took a deep breath. "If I fell for him all over again, it would've been then.""He's an idiot for turning down an amazing girl like you." And Chat Noir couldn't hide his bitterness, as much as he tried. Yet Ladybug still laughed, her voice heavy and strained, with tears shining in her eyes.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 215
Kudos: 302





	1. Confidence

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This was the first fanfic I wrote for MLB. Everything that takes place prior to, and including, Episode 321 (Puppeteer 2) is considered canon, while episodes that came afterwards (Chat Blanc, Felix, Ladybug, Heart Hunter, and Miracle Queen) are disregarded. Every chapter title is a song that inspired said chapter; feel free to guess the song! The story will update every Friday!
> 
> Thank you to Treees, Surprise, WellSaltedLady, and everyone else who helped me beta, outline, and plot out this monster! Truly couldn't have done it without you!

On Monday evening, an akuma interrupted what precious little time Marinette had left to prepare herself for tomorrow. February in Paris meant just-above-freezing temperatures at night, and she stumbled out onto her balcony with chattering teeth and trembling fingers. With the promise of hot cocoa later, Tikki transformed her into Ladybug, and she met up with her partner, Chat Noir, to take down the akuma.

The fight was brief, as if the akumatisation was half-hearted, but Ladybug was anxious to return home to finish her preparations and thankful for the easy fight. 

“Thanks for your help, Chat Noir, I gotta-!”

“Wait!”

Gloved and clawed fingers wrapped around her wrist while her other hand flung out her yo-yo. Ladybug hesitated, and she looked back at him with wide eyes filled with concern. He looked sheepish, but all of it faded into cool confidence the second he had her attention. 

“Could I purr-suade you to join me tomorrow fur a romantic outing?”

She blinked once, twice, before replying, “Are you asking _meow’t?”_

Chat Noir let go of her and laughed. It was the deep kind, rumbling in his chest and echoing across the rooftops, his head thrown back as he clutched his sides. She chuckled, the sound contagious, and shook her head in amusement. Ladybug withdrew her yo-yo from the chimney it was wrapped around and instead ruffled the blond hair between his pointed cat ears. He went quiet, curious eyes turned towards her, face pink - from the cold, of course, Ladybug told herself.

“May I take that as a yes, Milady?”

He sounded so hopeful, so excited, but Ladybug bit her bottom lip as she pulled her hand away. Now she was the sheepish one, toeing the roof and resisting the urge to fidget with her yo-yo. His face fell.

“I’m sorry, _mon chaton_ , but I’ve already made plans with a friend.”

“A friend,” he repeated, bitter.

“Yeah, she wants to paint my nails and watch movies; she’s spending the night.” Ladybug rolled her eyes, pretending she didn’t notice the jealousy on Chat’s face turn into understanding and acceptance. He too chuckled and shook his head, but he respected the excuse; his Lady couldn’t spend every night with him, after all, even if that night was going to be Valentine’s Day.

“Another time, purrhaps?"

“Maybe,” she said, quiet. She didn’t want to get his hopes up. Alya wasn’t visiting _just_ to hang out: Marinette had plans tomorrow and Alya wanted to know how they would play out.

“I look forward to it,” he said. His resulting smile was as pointed as a Cheshire cat, white teeth gleaming in the moonlight. “In the meantime, have a good night, Buginette!” 

“I _told_ you not to call me that!”

He laughed and saluted her, extended his staff off the side of the building, and vaulted away as his ring beeped out another warning. Ladybug gently touched one of her earrings as they also beeped, and she unhooked her yo-yo again to swing back home.

She dropped back into her room the same time her transformation fell away, bare feet hitting her bed, and Marinette went to work again. She practiced her lines, put the finishing touches on her present, and fixed up hot cocoa and cookies for Tikki and herself once she remembered her earlier promise. It was past midnight by the time she went to bed, but Marinette made sure to set up multiple alarms on her phone for the next morning. She could _not_ be late to school tomorrow…

Yet in the morning, she was still a frantic mess trying to get everything together. She double checked her backpack (homework, textbooks, pencils, pens, tablet), triple checked her outfit (cute, not wrinkled, no loose threads, hair brushed), and checked the package on her desk at least a dozen times (perfect wrapping, all the parts in place, and actually signed for once). 

The small box nestled snug in her arms contained an assortment of macarons - passion fruit and raspberry, per her research - and a wrapped set of thick gloves she had made herself, after she had seen that his current pair had a rip where the stitching had come loose. And this time, she told herself, there’d be no way his father could claim this gift as his own: Marinette would be giving it straight to Adrien. He’d have no doubts about where this present had come from.

She lingered outside the bakery waiting for the light to change, still going through her mental checklist. Honestly, the “plan” was simpler than anything else she and her friends had ever concocted. As she crossed the street, running through what she wanted to say, trying to build confidence, eyes darting back and forth to see who had already arrived at school, Marinette told herself to breathe easy. She had the support of all her friends, from Alya to Mylène to Juleka, and the encouragement of Alix and Rose.

Yet as she put a foot on the first step leading to the courtyard, her mind turned towards the one friend whose support she didn’t have. Then again, Chat Noir had said he wanted her to be happy, right? Marinette couldn’t let guilt hold her back now. 

Plan A was to wait for Adrien to arrive via car before class started, but after five minutes of standing on the topmost step, pretending to fiddle with her phone, Marinette spotted Lila coming from the opposite direction. As if on cue, the Agreste car pulled up to the pavement, and Lila rushed - attractively and daintily so, of course - to meet Adrien as he stepped out. Marinette gritted her teeth, but this was fine: she’d just move on to Plan B. 

Turning her back on them was easier said than done, but Marinette forced herself to take several steps toward the locker room. Once her present was safely tucked away inside her locker, she breathed a sigh of relief and went to class.

Yet Plan B failed to follow through as well, which was to talk to Adrien at lunch. Marinette started to get nervous, or at least, more nervous than she already was. Alya gave her a questioning look when classes resumed, but Marinette shook her head. 

_“Get it together, girl!”_ Alya mouthed.

Marinette glanced at Lila, and Alya seemed to get the hint.

When the final bell rang and the students were free to go, Alya was the first to stand up and hurry her way toward Lila, grinning broadly.

“Hey, Lila, I wanted to talk with you! Do you have a moment?”

Marinette didn’t bother listening for the rest of their conversation. Instead, she packed her bag as quickly as she could, darted out the classroom door, and rushed to the locker room. She didn’t dare breathe until she saw that her present was still safe and untouched, and her sigh of relief was audible. 

“Marinette?”

She jumped, nearly slamming her locker door closed in a hurry to conceal her gift, but she only succeeded in pinching her fingers in the door and yelping even louder. Adrien frantically tried to help her, apologies tumbling from his mouth.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you-!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay!!” Marinette said, a little too loudly, biting her lip through the smarting pain. “It’s a token- I mean, it’s NOT broken. I’ll be nine- _fine!”_

Oh gosh, a month’s worth of practice and improvement had been thrown out the window in a matter seconds. Adrien grabbed her hand and examined her fingers, inspecting them to make sure everything was indeed fine, and Marinette could feel heat spreading from her cheeks to her ears. She tried desperately to breathe, but every breath caught in her throat until Adrien looked up and awkwardly smiled as he dropped her hand. 

“Yeah, it looks fine. I’m sure that hurt though.”

She swallowed thickly, nodded slowly, and before she could lose any more of her courage, blurted out, “Can I talk with you? Uhm, privately?”

Adrien blinked, surprised. “I uh, I have fencing in a little bit…”

“I-I know.”

“...but I guess I can spare a moment.”

He picked up the bag he had dropped on the ground, probably at the same time Marinette had been startled, and she peeked inside her locker again to grab her wrapped gift. Doubt and guilt and fear twisted in her chest, but she was Ladybug! She could do this! It was just Adrien, sweet, kind, gentle Adrien, and as gorgeous as he was, the worst he could say was no.

They ended up taking their conversation to a more private corner of the locker room, even though students were starting to trickle in and out as they put away their school supplies and picked up club gear and homework. Marinette wasn’t sure where to start, and as Adrien watched her, she felt the pressure mounting. 

“You can talk to me, Marinette…” He started, but she held up a hand to make him pause.

“I know. This is just...difficult. I’m sorry.”

Adrien looked confused, and Marinette took one last, deep breath to fill her lungs, before she pushed out the words she needed to say. 

“You… You make me lose my confidence. I... I get all tongue-tied and off-balance and awkward, and yeah, I’m pretty clumsy normally I guess but…” Okay, now she was starting to ramble, and she needed to get to the point of the matter. She only had so much _time!_ “B-But around you, it’s worse, and it’s ‘cause…” Marinette fidgeted with the wrapped box in her hands, lowered her gaze, and slowly lifted it and presented it to him, and Adrien was watching her, curious, intrigued, but he wasn’t reacting - he wasn’t _taking the gift…_

“It’s ‘cause… I think… I’m-in-love-with-you." The words rushed out of her mouth, but Marinette was surprised that her sentence was still understandable. She knew because Adrien’s eyes had gone wide and his jaw had dropped. “And uhm, I’d really like to go out with you sometime for uh, coffee or a movie or...or whatever you wanna do.” Yet her confession fell flat. It was lackluster, despite all her practice - but maybe it’s _because_ of the practice that it felt that way. Marinette was never very good at improv, at acting, at reading from a script, and it didn’t feel like she was speaking from her heart. 

Their conversation stretched into a tense silence. Marinette dared to peak upward at Adrien, to see if he was still there, and he looked _terrified._ Slowly, gently, kindly, he reached up and placed his hands over Marinette’s, which were still holding the gift, and the fear in his face gave way to an even worse emotion: Pity.

Before the words left his mouth, Marinette swore she was being punched in the gut. 

“I’m...flattered, Marinette. I truly am. You’re an amazing girl, and… And I think you’d make an even more amazing girlfriend, but…” And now, Adrien bit his lip and pulled one hand away to rub at the back of his neck - he was nervous, unsure, and Marinette was shaking.

“You’re one of my best friends, but I’m...in love with someone else. Another girl. It wouldn't be fair to you. I’m really sorry.”

But there wasn’t anything for Adrien to apologise _for_. Of course he’d be in love with someone else, someone more talented and amazing, someone more attractive and confident than her. Her mind instantly flew to Kagami: Poised, rich, fierce, and beautiful. And Kagami didn’t stutter when her crush walked into the room.

“Oh...” Marinette tried to stop her eyes from watering, and she tried to get her lungs to work as she took a step back. The present didn't move with her hands, and she left Adrien trying to catch it as she withdrew, as it tumbled, as her heart threatened to shatter. “That’s...okay. That’s okay. I’ll just… j-just…”

Adrien flinched as he cradled the present to his chest with one arm, reaching for her with the other. “Marinette…”

“I’ll j-just go-”

“No, Marinette!”

She had already darted for the locker room door, fighting back tears, hoping that no one saw her nearly trip over the threshold.

_“Marinette!”_

But she was already out in the courtyard, looking for the fastest route back to the bakery, avoiding every set of eyes that glanced their way.

“Please, Marinette!!”

But Marinette was already running home.


	2. Maybe, I'm Afraid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir hasn't seen his Lady in awhile, and he shows concern for her when they finally meet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place Friday after Valentine's Day, Feb. 17th.  
> This is the shortest chapter of the story btw! Most chapters are between 2k-5k.

Chat Noir hadn't seen Ladybug for four days, three hours, and thirty-seven minutes. After a brief stint with an akuma Monday evening, the city of Paris had been mostly quiet, despite the holiday. She had turned down his offer to be his Valentine (as usual, nothing surprising, but upsetting nonetheless), but Chat hadn't expected her to blow off their usual patrols too. That…was not like Ladybug.

It was still chilly, just above freezing during the night, so maybe she had decided to stay in. But the cold had never stopped them before, not even when it snowed, and he was starting to worry. 

If only he knew where she lived, who she was, where to find her… But Chat respected her and her privacy too much to pry. Instead, he had settled for leaving her messages, trusting that because they went through, she was (at least) still alive.

Maybe tonight would be another bust. Maybe he should just go home, do his homework, try to sleep. Maybe he should wait a little longer… 

Green eyes scanned the skyline for any blip of red again, and again, and once more, until even a passing car was enough to make him hopeful. He looked at the stars, out towards major landmarks, and down at his staff, hoping it would tell him she had finally responded.

And suddenly, she was there. No, she was _here_ ! He must've taken his eyes off the sky for too long, or maybe she had come from a different direction, because Chat nearly jumped when she landed on the roof with a soft _thud._

"Milady, it's wonderful to see you!"

Yet his grin faltered the moment he saw her, actually looked at her, and he was worried all over again. Ladybug tried to smile at him, but her own lips failed to do more than twitch before her face settled back into a frown.

Had she been crying? Chat could barely tell with the mask. She looked melancholy and stood defensively, her arms tightly crossed as she avoided looking directly at him.

"What happened?" He asked, quiet and concerned.

"...Nothing, Chat Noir. Let's-"

"I don't mean to be rude, Milady, but-"

"No." 

Her voice was firm and put an end to the conversation. And even if he had pursued it, she was already pulling out her yo-yo, already flinging it around the chimney on the next building over, already flying through the sky. Chat Noir wished she had at least said hello, but he followed after her, loyal and uneasy.

They hardly spoke at all, words unnecessary when they could read each other so well. She led, he followed, and they both traveled around the inner ring of Paris. They were fast, efficient, and saw little that required their attention. 

Chat guessed that even supervillains wanted a quiet Friday evening.

"Can I ask you something?"

She blinked at him in confusion, but nodded. They had stopped and sat near the roof they had started from, a place supposedly close to both their homes. 

"You're not mad at me, are you?"

Ladybug's eyes went wide in surprise, and Chat was happy to see her act normal.

"No, no! Of course not, _mon chaton_ _!_ If I were mad at you, I promise I'd tell you." 

Ah, of course. He always trusted her to be open and (mostly) honest. 

"...Are you mad at me?" She asked, hesitant.

“Only madly in love, Milady!”

_“Chat Noir!"_

"I could never be angry with you, Ladybug."

And that was true for him. He could be frustrated, annoyed, upset, but never angry. She seemed amazed, but as she glanced back out at the city, her face slipped into sadness again. 

"But I didn't come last time. I was late today."

"You're here now, and that's what matters most. You can always talk to me, y'know."

"...I know."

They lapsed back into silence, but it wasn't awkward. It was a far cry from comfortable, yet it came from a place of understanding and acceptance. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to be there for her, but Chat Noir wasn't going to force her to talk if she didn't want to. Something had happened, something probably bad, and he was helpless to help her.

"Well, I better ge-"

"I was turned down."

He had been about to stand, but her words - so quiet, so hesitant - stopped him and he sat back down beside her. 

"What?" Chat could feel his chest tightening. 

"On Valentine's Day, I confessed to a boy, the one I have...had feelings for. He turned me down, said he was in love with someone else."

The first emotions to run through Chat Noir were wild. He felt pity, then elation, then anger, and lastly guilt. Thankfully, Ladybug wasn't watching him as she spoke, preferring to gaze around at the lights of Paris.

"He did it so gently too. He even apologised, Chat, and he was kind and considerate and I…" She took a deep breath. "If I fell for him all over again, it would've been then."

"He's an idiot for turning down an amazing girl like you." And Chat Noir couldn't hide his bitterness, as much as he tried. Yet Ladybug still laughed, her voice heavy and strained, with tears shining in her eyes. 

"Of course you'd think that, Chat." She replied with a weak smile.

"You deserve to be happy, Milady."

"And?" She pushed, finally taking her eyes off the city to look at him instead. Chat stared right back, anger making him more determined, more afraid. He wasn't angry at her, he never would be, but he was angry _for_ her. How dare this boy reject her? Didn't he realise he held the heart of the bravest, fiercest, most miraculous girl in all of Paris? Scratch that, in all the _world ?_

Maybe he was afraid of what she would say. 

"Let me make you happy."

"I didn't tell you so you could ask me out again, Chat Noir," she whispered, her expression a cross between sad and amused. "I'm telling you as a friend."

Chat could now see why she had been so reluctant to tell him. Ashamed, he broke his gaze and tried again.

"I… I didn't mean it like that," he tried. "Your friendship means everything to me, LB. If this jerk-" Chat caught her glare and switched tracks. "-this boy, doesn't want to hang out with you, then I'll make every effort to be here for you instead."

If he had been standing, maybe he would've tried to bow, but instead, he just held out his hand and tilted his head. She smiled at him, soft and sweet, and placed her palm gingerly into his.

"Thank you, _mon chaton."_

"I just want the best for you."

"I appreciate that. Maybe, I'm afraid, is all."

"You, Milady? Afraid?" He smirked. She smiled back, even wider. 

"Just…just a little."

Their conversation descended into various topics after that: the new fighting game being advertised on television, the weird Chat Noir and Ladybug figurines being sold in Korea, and anxiety over their yearly exams. They finally separated sometime around one in the morning, the cold breeze harsh against their exposed faces.

When Adrien finally laid down in his own bed, covered in pyjamas rather than Chat Noir's uniform, he allowed himself to hope. If Ladybug wasn't pining after this other boy, maybe she would start to look at him. Maybe she'd see him, maybe she'd fall for him, maybe they could finally… 

Despite the wave of guilt, knowing she was going to be miserable while she recovered, Adrien dared to hope, and he went to sleep with sweeter dreams. 


	3. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya rushes over to help Marinette deal with the fallout rather than spend the holiday with her own boyfriend.

After her confession to Adrien went horribly wrong (which was to be expected, honestly, how had she ever been so _naïve_ ), Marinette rushed out of her school, across the street, and through the boulangerie. She passed her parents with nary a word and climbed up the stairs to her home, to her bedroom, and then last of all, to her balcony. She set down her backpack, let Tikki out of her purse, and then busied herself with watering her plants, trimming off the dead leaves, and making sure last night’s frost hadn’t harmed them. Her hands trembled the entire time.

Tikki watched her with a worried frown but said nothing.

And when Marinette was done, she went back downstairs, dumped her backpack onto her desk, and numbly sorted through her schoolwork, separating graded tests from notes from assignment sheets. For a second, she sat down and stared at the math questions due in three days, but her eyes flickered upwards and landed on the various photos of her crush tacked onto her walls. Ah, _that_ was what she had been avoiding. 

That was how Alya found Marinette later on, staring at the photos and crying silently. 

"C'mon, Marinette, let's take these down."

She coaxed her to stand, and together, they tugged down all the photographs of Adrien Agreste and stuck them in a box, hid the box, and hung up new things: other pictures from her various fashion magazines, designs from her old sketchbooks that she was still proud of, and newly printed photos of all her friends, courtesy of Alya. 

“Thank you,” Marinette said softly, admiring their handiwork, but Alya shook her head. 

“No need, girl. Let’s get this party started, yeah?!”

“Party?”

Alya began to pull her idea of a "party" out of her backpack: a wide variety of snacks, from pastries to sweets to a bag of mystery potato chips; a nail polish set that sparkled and shone in the sunlight; several strands of brightly coloured cotton floss; and a couple of movies from her own personal collection.

They cautiously explored the mystery-flavoured crisps while drinking lemonade and letting Marinette's computer autoplay through a lengthy playlist of funny cat videos. Once they had had a few laughs, gone through nearly half the bag, and emptied their glasses, Alya changed the videos to music and broke out the nail polish. Marinette tried a slight smile.

“Really, thank you for coming, Alya, but….”

“I’m not leaving this room until I deem you fit for school tomorrow!” Alya declared, brandishing her nail polish as if it were a weapon, pointing it straight at Marinette’s amused face. “I refuse to let my best friend wallow alone in her time of need; that’s not what Ladybug would do!”

And honestly, she did laugh. No, Marinette knew she wouldn’t have left Alya alone either if their roles were switched. For that, she was grateful.

"Alright, alright! What colours do you have?"

"I have that pink you liked from last time, but I _really_ think this red would suit you more." Alya said with a wink. Marinette about snorted; Chat Noir would have been in fits over her unintentional pun.

Painting each other’s nails kept her mind distracted, kept the tears back, and as they talked, it helped her focus. Her life wasn’t over just because a boy had rejected her, as much as it had hurt, and it would be difficult to face Adrien tomorrow (and the next several days afterwards). Yet here, right now, she was as close to fine as she could get.

After their nails were painted and drying, they changed the music to a movie. Yet they were barely ten minutes in when her parents asked them to join them for dinner. 

The food was already on the table, but her parents, Tom and Sabine, seemed to sense that something terrible had happened in their daughter’s life. While they did not ask for details, their pity and soft words caused guilt to twist in Marinette’s gut. Their comforting and supporting presence was enough to eventually coax her forward on her own, without their prompting. 

Alya laid a gentle hand on her arm as Marinette bravely told a brief summary of her confession - and the resulting rejection.

Sabine frowned, but it was her husband who spoke first.

“He’s a right idiot for turning down an amazing, talented girl like you, Marinette.” Tom spoke with certainty as he cleared the table and moved the dishes to the sink. Alya moved to help him, but Sabine waved her off as she went to grab a container for the leftovers.

“When the wind blows strong, some will build walls and others will build windmills. You are a clever, resourceful, fierce young woman. It is his loss that he does not see that.”

Perhaps, Marinette thought sadly, he did not see that because she was always clumsy around him, always stuttering and tripping over her words, always blushing and fumbling and creating a mess. Maybe if she had the confidence to be more like herself, to be more like Ladybug...

Alya waved a finger in front of her face. “No more negative thoughts, M! We’re going to go back up there, finish our movie, make friendship bracelets, and plan our outfits for tomorrow. Alright?!”

Marinette blinked, slow and uneasy, before inhaling deeply and forcing a wide grin on her face. It nearly met her eyes this time, and Alya returned it.

“Alright!”

And after they had changed into pyjamas and finished their movie, Marinette started separating the strands of coloured floss while Alya wove them around cardboard bobbins, watching her friend warily. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked, clearly uneasy, but Marinette shook her head as her fingers trembled. The brightly coloured string slipped from her hands as she took a deep breath. Alya was an amazing friend, and she was doing her best to lift Marinette out of her post-rejection sadness, but an air of grief still hung around her. To Alya, it was obvious; maybe to anyone else, Marinette was hiding it well.

“Not really. It is what it is.”

“True… What’re you gonna do about those movie tickets?”

Marinette flinched. Alya had given her a pair of movie tickets to what she said Nino had said was one of Adrien’s favourite movies. It was to be an outdoor event, and they’d be projecting the movie to a park full of people. Not exactly romantic, but Marinette had thought it would make a great first date. Something his father might approve of and let him attend. As awkward as it would be to watch a movie about herself (or well, Ladybug, not Marinette), it would’ve been amazing just to spend time with Adrien. 

“I… I don’t know yet. Maybe I’ll invite Luka. You wouldn’t mind, would you?” Alya had paid for the tickets, after all. 

Her friend shook her head. “Not at all. They’re your’s. Did you want to meet up with Nino and I?”

“Maybe. Let me ask him first.”

And Marinette reached for her phone to do just that, but she caught a glimpse of the time. It was getting late, and she didn’t want to wake anyone up with a ping, so she set her phone back down and started tying knots in the strands of floss she had chosen. As she and Alya braided and wove together the strands to create playful patterns, their conversation drifted to school.

“Ugh, I can’t _believe_ she expects us to finish that project by Friday!” 

“It is a little insane; we should’ve gotten the weekend at least!”

And then onto the Ladyblog.

“Did you get any footage of that Akuma last night?” 

“Not personally, but someone sent some in. It was such a quick fight!”

They lamented about first Chloé and Lila, and then Nino while finishing up their bracelets, tying them around each other’s wrists as they laughed.

“Seriously?! He did that?!” Marinette asked, incredulous. 

“Seriously! I nearly dumped him right then and there, but he said he was sorry and tried to make up for it with flowers. _Flowers!_ I don’t know who gives that boy romantic advice, but they’re not doing a good job of it.” 

“What do you mean? Flowers are nice!”

“Yeah, okay, sure, when you don’t have younger siblings who will destroy anything they can get their grubby hands on, I’m sure flowers are awesome.” Alya rolled her eyes as she examined the bracelet Marinette had just completed, admiring it on her wrist.

“Nino has a younger brother,” Marinette countered. “I’m sure he knows what that’s like.”

“As if! Noël is a lot easier, and he’d _never_ destroy a vase of flowers.”

Giggling at Alya’s insistence, Marinette stood up and together they picked out their outfits for tomorrow. They turned off the lights, climbed into the loft, and their conversation moved to Marinette’s latest art project. Now that she had finished her gift for Adrien, what was next? Maybe she could make something for Alya. Her best friend definitely deserved something for her loyalty and help tonight. As the thought crossed her mind, she suddenly reached out and hugged Alya close.

“...Marinette?”

Alya stiffened, before awkwardly returning the hug and patting her friend on the back. Marinette wasn’t crying - and amazingly, she hadn’t cried at all since Alya had arrived - but she was shaking, as if she were cold, despite the heater going full force since the sun had set.

“You’re the bestest friend I could ever ask for Alya. Thank you.”

“Not a problem, Marinette. I’ll always be here for you.”

They were both quiet as Marinette tried to steady her breathing. She was trying hard not to succumb to tears, to be as strong and brave as her superhero persona, but she did sniffle as Alya started to rub circles into her back. 

“Do you...want to talk about it?” Alya asked quietly. “I know it’s getting late, but it could help.”

Marinette didn’t answer immediately, not until she had found some composure and plastered it back onto her face. When she finally sat up and pulled away from the hug, she had found her usual bright smile.

“I’m just considering the consequences.”

“Of loving him?” Alya asked with a sad smile. Marinette shrugged.

“It was...dumb. And cheap. I was always so awkward around him, and-”

“No,” Alya defended. Marinette blinked, confused. “It wasn’t dumb. It wasn’t cheap. Sure, you were a bit wild, sometimes you lost your senses, but we’re _young_. Some of the things you did were sweet; remember that scarf?”

She nodded. 

“I don’t think anyone else would’ve let that slide. Definitely not someone like Chloé. We may call _him_ Sunshine, but if you want my opinion, you’re probably too good for him anyway!” 

Marinette giggled despite the twinge of pain in her chest. “Thanks, Alya. It’s gonna be rough, but…I think, in the end, I’ll be okay.”

“That’s my girl! Stay positive!”

Marinette tried to sleep. Alya had fallen asleep some time ago, their conversation having grown quieter and quieter until she had drifted off, but Marinette was caught in her whirlwind of thoughts. Every time she almost drifted off, her brain would invent some other crazy nightmare, and she’d snap awake. For hours, she dozed, fitful and listless and tired.

She didn’t think Adrien would say anything to Chloé, and she shuddered at the thought of him telling _Lila._ Chloé would at least have the decency to not rub it in her face, but Lila would turn the confession against her, warp it out of context, and attempt to gain an advantage from it. Marinette rolled over again and blinked at her ceiling, trying to banish the dark thoughts: She was confident, she was stubborn, and most of all, she trusted Adrien not to gloat. Plus, he knew that Lila would potentially use the information to her own benefit, right? 

Her thoughts swam round and round in circles, but she took another deep breath to calm them. It would do no good to attract an akuma at… She glanced at the clock.

Was it really already six in the morning? She was still awake, it was nearly time to get up and go to school, and Alya was starting to stir. For another hour, Marinette tried to doze, but by the time it felt like she was finally starting to fall asleep, her alarm clock was blaring. Alya yanked her out of her bed and maneuvered her into the outfit they had chosen last night. 

“Are you gonna be okay today?” Alya asked as she smoothed out the sleeves of Marinette’s shirt. Marinette frowned as she fidgeted with the hem, remembering when she had sewn this particular blouse, but she nodded after Alya had removed her hands from the fabric. 

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I mean,” she put a smile on her face. “It’ll be hard, I’ll admit, but I don’t want to miss class just because I…” 

Her smile faded. She couldn’t squeeze out the words. 

Alya nodded in understanding. She grabbed both of their school bags, opened the trap door leading to the living room, and waved eagerly at Marinette’s parents.

“ _Bonjour_ , M. Dupain, Mme Cheng! Thanks for letting me stay the night.”

Marinette followed her friend a little more slowly, but after a quick breakfast and a much needed cup of coffee, she felt more than ready to face the day.

Let come what may. She could handle it. She was _Ladybug!_


	4. Weight of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spending time with friends helps heal all wounds, but an akuma at 5 a.m. on a Saturday doesn't help anyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look I actually posted on Friday for once, ffft-
> 
> Thank you everyone for the kind comments so far <3 I'll do my best to respond to them from now on!!

Despite being Ladybug, Marinette couldn’t pull herself together that night to attend their usual patrol. 

Wednesday took _forever_. It felt like it went on and on and _on_. Concentrating on the front of the classroom was difficult enough when she was tired, but compounded with her having to peer at the whiteboard over the top of a perfectly styled head of blond hair, it was close to impossible. Try as she might to ignore him, Marinette did not miss the occasional worried glance back Adrien sometimes sent her way. In the past, she might’ve smiled in return and tried to remain calm, but now, she found herself wishing he would stop. 

On top of all that, the rest of her friends had given her brief words of encouragement that morning and were now sending her pitying glances. Alya must’ve filled them in on what had happened. Alix was the only one brave enough to glare at Adrien’s back - as if it was entirely his fault for being unable to return Marinette’s feelings - but the other girls were clearly unhappy with him for the time being. It took all of lunch to talk them down.

“Seriously, girls, I’m _fine_. I appreciate the concern, but…it’s gonna be okay. _I’ll_ be okay.”

“Marinette,” Mylène said. “We just want to be here for you.”

“Then please, stop blaming him for this,” she pleaded, blue eyes flicking from one girl to the next, until her gaze landed on Alix. “It’s not his fault and I don’t wanna guilt trip him. I’m...happy being friends. I just need some time…”

Alya patted her hand as the rest of the girls looked at each other. Finally, they seemed to come to a silent mutual agreement and nodded, some more reluctantly than others. Marinette forced a shaky smile to her face, before changing the topic.

“Rose, do you still need help with those props for Kitty Section?”

Her blonde friend had been brought close to tears by Marinette’s plea, as she saw the gesture as a romantic one, proof that Marinette truly was in love with the boy who sat in front of her, and she was dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a napkin as she nodded.

“Yeah, that’d be nice! Your costumes last time were incredible!”

They arranged to stop by Juleka’s after school, and Marinette was thankful for the distraction. When the final bell rang, they met up and started the walk towards the river. She held light, positive conversation with Rose and Juleka all the way to the Seine, and she showed them possible designs for new props and additional costumes from her sketchbook as they traveled. Rose offered a few suggestions, and Juleka voiced a quiet request for the outfit to be more secure than the previous ones.

“It can be tricky to…hold the guitar if it’s loose…”

“Ooohh,” Marinette said as understanding hit her. “Y’know, I didn’t think about that. Sorry, Juleka.”  
  
“It’s no big deal, really.” 

Marinette glanced up from her sketchbook. They had stopped right outside the boat to peer closer at the designs, and it hadn’t been Juleka who had spoken.

“Hi Luka!” Rose greeted, holding her hand up for a high five which Luka eagerly returned. He held his hand up for his sister, who high-fived him with much less enthusiasm, before he turned to Marinette with the same raised palm. As she slapped her hand against his with a grin, she remembered what she had told Alya above inviting Luka to the movie. 

But…

Now that she was here, standing in front of him and staring at him, it felt _wrong_. He was giving her that look, the one that said he was reading her and knew that something wasn’t okay. He thankfully refrained from saying anything as Rose and her started going over the designs in gusto, finalizing the props and the supplies they would need to finish them, but he pulled her aside when Juleka asked Rose to help her with the lyrics for their next song. 

“The weight of love can be a heavy burden.”

Marinette scuffed a laugh, avoiding his gaze. She crossed her arms over her chest, but it wasn’t intended to be rude - more like an attempt to protect herself. 

“Yeah… It sure can.”  
  
“Don’t give yourself away to it, Marinette.” Luka sat down and picked up his guitar, fingers settling on the fretboard out of habit. “You’re incredible. You…” His brow furrowed in concentration, and instead of speaking, he strung his pick across the strings, floating out a melancholy minor chord followed by a more impressive major progression. Marinette tried to smile, but it was bittersweet. 

“Thanks Luka.”  
  
“If you’re ever feeling lonely, you can always call me.”

“I appreciate that, I really do.”

And she _meant_ that, she really did. She was two seconds away from inviting him to the movie on Saturday, but it didn’t sit right with her. It was a movie she was supposed to see with Adrien, a movie _he_ would’ve enjoyed, and Luka had never expressed an interest in Ladybug beyond any other normal Parisian. Combined with the fact that Marinette would feel uncomfortable watching a movie about herself, it just didn’t make sense to invite him. But maybe there was someone _else_ she could consider inviting...

“Penny for your thoughts?”  
  
Marinette chuckled. “I’d hope they’re worth more than that.”

Luka smiled back. “Of course. I’d offer you a whole euro if I had one on me.”

She laughed this time, uncrossing her arms to cover her mouth with her hand. Rose and Juleka glanced at them from the other side of the boat, curious.

“I guess I’m just looking forward to the weekend.”

He raised an eyebrow at her cryptic message, but he didn’t question her any further, opting instead to strum out more melodies on his guitar.

Once she returned home, however, an air of depression and sheer exhaustion settled upon her. Alya had fought away the tears yesterday evening, being at school had prevented her from breaking down in front of everyone, and she had gone with Rose and Juleka in an effort to keep herself distracted. Once dinner was over with her parents and the dishes were washed and put away, Marinette excused herself to her room. At first, she tried to work on her homework, but when the maths stopped making sense because the numbers were blurry-

Oh, why were the numbers blurry?  
  
Something wet, like a raindrop, hit the paper. Realization struck her like a lightning bolt, and she rubbed at her eyes as Tikki, the small red kwami she hadn’t spoken a word to all day, sat down on her shoulder. Her blue eyes were full of worry, just like everyone else’s had been.

“Marinette…” She said softly.  
  
“I’m fine,” Marinette choked out, pushing more tears away from the corners of her eyes, obviously not entirely fine. “I… I just gotta…”  
  
“Don’t worry about patrol tonight, Marinette.” Tikki mumbled. “Chat will understand.”

And just like that, the dam broke open.

* * *

She regretted being initially cold with Chat Noir on Friday evening, when she finally turned up for patrol, but they had quickly and easily fallen into their usual banter once she was honest with him. His support and friendship was like a breath of fresh air: he didn’t look at her with pity, didn’t talk with a soft and quivering voice as if a loud word would startle her, and he didn’t know Adrien so he couldn’t try and bring him into the conversation. Their late night talk had been exactly what Marinette needed to take her next step on her road to recovery.

The akuma waking her up at five a.m. the next morning, was not. 

“It’s a _Saturday_ ,” Chat Noir groaned, landing on all four paws beside her as she watched the akuma from a rooftop. She had been observing it for a little while now, but her eyes were still unfocused from lack of sleep. She hadn’t even had a chance to go to the bathroom before Tikki was urging her to transform! “Doesn’t Papillon believe in weekends?”  
  
“Maybe he knew we were out late last night,” Ladybug tried. “So this is him mocking us.”

“Uggh,” Chat flopped over, sprawling out over the roof tiles. “Tell him I’m not _feline_ it this morning. I wanted to sleep in!”  
  
Ladybug chuckled. “If you’re _feline_ up to making puns, I think you’re awake enough to take on an akuma.”  
  
Chat Noir groaned, and Ladybug felt her smile twitch wider.

“Alright, I think the akuma’s in the coffee mug, think you can distract it for me?”  
  
And he was on his feet in a split second, bounding across the rooftops as he called back a very-wide-awake, “Anything for you, Milady!” 

Despite their sluggish start, the akuma battle didn’t take _too_ long. The sun hadn’t peeked above the horizon yet, not many people were out on the streets, and as Ladybug and Chat Noir watched her Miraculous Ladybug turn the Seine back into water from coffee, they were both feeling a little more awake.

As the paw print on his ring flickered and beeped, Chat Noir stretched and yawned. “Maybe coffee and a cat nap will do me good. Want to grab some with me, Buginette?” He winked. Ladybug shook her head and rolled her eyes at the nickname.

“Some coffee, or a cat nap?” She teased. His smirk broadened, and he raised his eyebrows in a clearly suggestive manner that made her groan. Her expression dropped further when her own earrings gave out a beeping noise. Another spot gone, three remaining, she tallied in her head. 

“Maybe some other time, _mon chaton_. We have to get going before we change back.”  
  
“Aww, but I know this place that does amazing cappuccinos! They’re purrfect!” He pleaded with a pout. She unhooked her yo-yo from her hip and glanced back at him, considering.

Before her brain could formulate a rational thought, her mouth was miles ahead, speaking words that she hadn’t thought completely through. The question tumbled out of her with little regard to the consequence, to how he would translate it, to how they would even pull it off! What if he thought she was asking him on a date?!

“How about a movie later?”  
  
She snapped a hand over her mouth the second the words were out, and Ladybug frantically tried to think of a way to pull them back, to retract her offer. The pure _shock_ on Chat Noir’s face threw even her for a loop, and they stared at each other in dumb silence in the early morning darkness.

“I… I didn’t-”  
  
“YES!!!”  
  
Chat snapped both his hands over his own mouth once he realised how loud he had shouted. They both chuckled, nervous and awkward, lowering their hands, and their silence was broken - once again - by the beeping of their miraculous.

“Okay,” Ladybug said, flinging her yo-yo around the nearest chimney. She was speaking to herself as much as she was to Chat. “Okay, uhm… We’ll meet up at seven? Movie starts shortly afterwards. I already have tickets. I’ll drop them off beforehand and we can watch from a roof or something.”

He seemed confused, and he tilted his head before something seemed to click. His green eyes went a little wide.  
  
“Is it that outdoor showing of Ladybug and Chat Noir?!” He laughed, grinning even wider. Ladybug laughed nervously and rubbed her neck as she nodded. Chat Noir eagerly punched the air and did a little dance, obviously excited. 

“Of course, Milady, I’d love to join you! I’ll see you at seven!”

Ladybug found herself smiling at his back as he ran away, returning his wave as he leapt over the building on the other side of the street with his staff. She broke from her thoughts as her miraculous beeped for a fourth time, reminding her that she only had so many seconds to get back home before her parents found her out of her bed. Pulling on the yo-yo string, Ladybug soared into the air, dizzy not only from the sudden change in height but from the prospect of seeing a movie with her partner rather than her crush.

She hoped he wouldn’t try to make it _weird_.


	5. Sit Next to Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir go see a movie at the park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: I'll update every Friday!!  
> also me: _forgets_
> 
> My eternal apologies! I'll post chapter 6 when I'm home from work.

For most of the day following the akuma attack, Marinette worked on her homework and some of the new props for Kitty Section. After lunch, she took a nap (and not a  _ cat  _ nap, like Chat had insisted upon, she told herself), and when she woke up, she started assembling together a basket to take with her. A few blankets, for it was still fairly chilly at night, a couple of pastries from the kitchen countertop, and after a moment of thought, a bit of cheese and two small chocolate chip cookies, for Plagg and Tikki - just in case. If they didn’t end up needing the supplies, she could always give the cheese to Chat Noir as a treat for his kwami later that night.

Marinette didn’t know what else she could reliably take with her. She couldn’t take her phone - it wouldn’t be good if Chat caught a glimpse of the screen - and while she could take the macarons downstairs, they had the bakery’s official logo on them. She had even hesitated on taking some of the blankets, as they were all made via knitting or crochet from when she was trying to learn, but there was no way Chat Noir could guess her identity through a simple yarn blanket - right?    
  
She turned the tickets over in her hands, examining them closely. They had unique numbers on them, and Marinette pondered if Ladybug handing them in would prompt someone to check to see who had purchased these particular tickets. While an investigation would pull up Alya, it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch for someone to assume the Ladyblogger had purchased the tickets for Ladybug - but Alya had purchased the tickets for  _ Marinette. _

Meaning if they asked Alya about Ladybug using her tickets, Alya would easily make the connection.

Marinette groaned and pressed her palms to her eyes in dread. She let her desk chair spin a little, bringing her full circle in front of her monitor. She couldn’t hand in  _ both  _ tickets as Marinette. And it would be rude for her and Chat to watch the movie without paying, per se. After a few minutes, she decided this was a problem for Ladybug, and went downstairs to join her parents in setting the table and eating dinner. 

“I’m going to that movie tonight with Alya,” Marinette told her parents as they started clearing the table and washing the dishes. “I’ll be home by uh, nine? I think?”

Her mum frowned. “You think?”

“Maybe nine thirty.”

Her mum opened her mouth to say something else, but her dad stopped her by laying a large hand on her shoulder. “She’s a teenager, Sabine. I think it’s fine if she stays out a little late for a weekend night, yeah?”

Sabine looked worried, but she relented.    
  
“Alright, but on one condition: If you’re later than nine-thirty, you text us, and you let us know when you’re on your way home. Okay?”

Marinette nodded. She wouldn’t be able to have her phone out as Ladybug, not in front of Chat Noir at least, but hopefully she wouldn’t have to. She really didn’t plan on being out  _ that  _ late unless there was an akuma (and Marinette quietly tapped her knuckles against the wooden underside of the dining table as she bit her lip).

“Of course,  _ maman. _ I promise.”

“And if there’s an akuma, you come  _ straight  _ home.”   
  
Marinette nodded, although she knew she would have to break that promise. 

“Did you want to take some pastries for your friends?” Her father asked as he dried the dinner plates.

“I already packed some!” Marinette smiled, taking a dried plate and putting it back in the cupboard. 

“Oh,” he looked a little disappointed as he handed her another. “What about some macarons?” 

“I think the pastries will be enough,  _ papa. _ But thank you.”

Fifteen minutes before seven, Marinette wished her parents a good evening and headed downstairs with her basket. She poked her head out the door, checking to see if the coast was clear before darting for the nearest dark corner so she could transform. The sun was almost below the horizon and the hazy grey light of dusk provided her enough cover to duck behind a shadowed pillar. 

Tikki fluttered out of the basket as she put her back to the wall, and they both took a cautious glance around. 

“Do you think this is a good idea, Tikki?” Marinette asked, shuffling the basket from one hand to the other. Tikki looked confused, or as confused as a tiny kwami could. 

“Seeing a movie?” She asked.

“Seeing a movie with  _ Chat Noir.” _ Marinette clarified. Tikki giggled.

“I think it’s good for you two to bond a little. You’re partners afterall! Forging a strong friendship will lead to a deeper connection between you. It’ll help you fight akumas!”

Of course Tikki just saw it as that. Yet Chat Noir was already her friend, perhaps her best friend. Marinette sighed, examined her surroundings once more, before placing the basket down. 

“Alright then. Tikki,  _ spots on!” _

She reached the park in record time, but she made sure to be careful with her yo-yo throws so she wouldn’t jostle the basket and the pastries inside. When Ladybug landed on a nearby roof, she carefully set the basket down and examined the park below her. The screen was set up there, families were already filing in and sitting on the grassy field, and she could just make out where people were handing in their tickets. Thankfully, it looked like the tickets were being shredded upon turn-in. It would be safe for her to hand them in as Ladybug. What a relief!

For a while, Ladybug hopped from roof to roof, trying to gauge which one had the best view. Most of the buildings were too high, providing a warped view of the screen, but she eventually settled on the rooftop that gave them the most centered view possible - it also helped that whoever lived in the building had set up a fire, for the chimney was warm even through her suit. She laid out the largest blanket, as if she was preparing for a picnic, and put the other two to the side. Just as she was turning to see if they had turned on the screen in the park, Chat Noir landed beside her, grinning wildly. 

“Buginette, you brought blankets?!”    
  
“Of course, Chat.” Ladybug’s mouth had gone thin at the nickname. “It still gets plenty cold at night and I refuse to freeze up here.”   
  
“I could always keep you warm with some cuddles.” He smirked. 

Ladybug rolled her eyes, knowing this wouldn’t be the last time she’d do so tonight. "You can sit next to me, but no cuddling!" She smiled at his pout.

Her gaze fell to the bag he held in his left hand, a popular brand of  _ popcorn sucré,  _ and he held it up once he saw that she was looking.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Chat said, a little nervously. “I thought about bringing flowers, but I’ve never had sugared popcorn before, and I thought this would be a great time to try it!”

Ladybug shook her head, smiling. “I don’t mind at all, I brought some food too. Feel free to help yourself, I gotta go turn in these tickets before I forget!” 

She cast out her yo-yo towards the park, flying over the heads of families as they waited for the movie. Several kids pointed her out as she soared past, one little girl crying out her name enthusiastically. Ladybug beamed at the excitement, but she bypassed the crowd to land behind the screen, startling the stage workers with her sudden appearance. 

“L-Ladybug, is there an akuma?!” One woman ran up to her, clearly alarmed. She looked like a manager.

“No, everything’s alright.” Ladybug replied, channeling as much superhero charisma as she could as several people breathed sighs of relief. “I was just wondering if I could hand in our tickets for the movie? Chat Noir and I would love to watch, but we don’t want to draw too much attention away from the film.”

The woman looked shocked, but she recovered quickly. “We’d be honoured to have you!” She exclaimed. “I can take your tickets to the booth for turn in.” 

Ladybug opened her yo-yo, reached in, and pulled out the two tickets Alya had given her weeks ago. It was bittersweet, handing them off to the starry-eyed manager, because Marinette was supposed to be here with Adrien. Instead, Ladybug was here with Chat Noir. The manager took them and walked towards the ticket booth, and Ladybug lingered around just long enough to watch the tickets be verified and shredded. 

“Thanks guys! Bug out!”

When she rejoined Chat on their rooftop picnic, he was happily peeling apart a croissant, sighing in relaxed bliss for every sliver of flaky bread he put into his mouth. Ladybug couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. 

“You really like them?” She asked as she sat next to him. The screen across the park flickered to life. 

“They’re claw-some, Milady!” He moaned, landing bright, green eyes on her. “Where’d you get these?!”   


“Nuh uh uh, that’s a secret. But it’s definitely the best bakery in Paris.” She couldn’t help but brag about her parent’s amazing baking prowess. To her surprise, Chat Noir laughed.

“I’ll bring you croissants from the  _ actual  _ best boulangerie some day, LB. Their macarons are worth going  _ nuts _ over!” 

Ladybug opened her mouth to argue, before her brain caught onto the pun. She groaned loudly as the screen started playing advertisements for other films the park planned to show later in the year. Chat’s laughter could probably be heard from down on the lawn, but it was soon muffled by a large, knitted blanket that Ladybug threw over his head. Eventually, he fought his way free, his ears popping up first, and he grinned lazily at her as she dragged the other yarn blanket over her own shoulders. 

She tore apart her own croissant as the opening credits of the movie started, savoring her father’s handiwork, but they weren’t even thirty seconds in before Chat was speaking again. 

“Have you seen this yet?” He asked, curious.

Ladybug hesitated. She couldn’t tell him that she was at the red carpet premiere, although she hadn’t been on the guest list exactly, but she wouldn’t lie to him either. 

“Yeah,” she replied. “Some of my friends wanted to see it, so I got dragged along.” Not entirely far from the truth. She did see the movie with Adrien and Kagami, but the thought made her stomach twist. “You?”   
  
“Truthfully, I’ve seen it like, four times now.” He chuckled. “But I must say, this one will probably be the most memorable.”

“Oh? Why?”   
  
“‘Cause I get to see it with you.”

He was watching the Ladybug and Chat Noir on the screen as they flew over the buildings of Paris, moonlight at their backs and silly, animated grins on their faces. But she was watching him: Rarely did she get a chance to see him so relaxed, so mellow, and for the first time in a long while, Ladybug realised that Chat Noir looked genuinely happy.

Until he caught her staring at him. Then he was wiggling his eyebrows and smirking, holding up his chin with a clawed hand, and trying to pick her up with a sultry, “Enjoying the view, Milady?”

She flicked his nose and shoved a pastry into his mouth in retaliation.

When the Ladybug on screen detransformed into a lycée student, they opened up the bag of sweet popcorn and tried to land kernels in each other’s mouths. Marinette had always been horrible at it - she had little to no coordination - but as Ladybug, she surprised herself by catching every piece Chat flicked her way, until he flicked one right over her head and over the chimney. She pouted, but her eyes flickered back to the screen. Chat seemed determined to not watch the civilian Ladybug; he was focused too much on his popcorn.

“Y’know,” Ladybug started, her heart beating fast. “‘Bridgette’ is a pretty good guess.”

She held her breath as Chat froze, wondering if she had made a mistake. His face was a mix of shock and awe, surprised she had shared something  _ so close _ about her secret identity. Ladybug was always careful and closed off when it came to her civilian life - and part of the reason Chat wasn’t paying attention right now, she figured, was because he didn’t want to show that  _ this  _ scene got his hopes up. That this scene of Ladybug as a normal girl with a normal life was partly true, and he could find her based off of it. 

“...R-Really?” He asked after he swallowed thickly.

“I mean, it’s not  _ right!” _ Ladybug quickly corrected, suddenly flushed. “But it’s closer than like,  _ Jeanne.”  _   
  
“Jeanne?” Chat said, some of the tension leaving the air as he raised a brow at her choice in names. “Like...Jeanne d’Arc? I doubt that they’d name the heroine of Paris after  _ another  _ heroine of France.”

“Sometimes those script writers have vivid imaginations. I’m sure one of them toyed with the idea just for the  _ irony _ of it all.”

They both had a chuckle over that.

“So how is ‘Bridgette’ a good guess?” He asked, hesitant. Ladybug put on a thoughtful face. 

“A couple of the letters are the same,” she said, sly. He groaned.

“I bet it’s the ‘-ette’ part, too.” Chat lamented. “That’s like, every other girl in Paris.  _ You  _ included, Buginette!”

“Hey!” She playfully hit him on the arm, but Ladybug couldn’t deny that she was slightly flushed. Such a detail of herself was safe...right?   
  
Well, it would be safe with Chat. She trusted him.

Bridgette on the screen was sweet, kind, and energetic. Yet the boy who was secretly Chat Noir in the movie seemed nothing like the boy in Ladybug’s imagination. He was reserved, almost cold, albeit handsome and well-mannered. The boy in her mind was wild, a complete flirt, but also kind and loyal. The two characters, both completely fictional, didn’t match up for her.

They leaned against each other as Bridgette and Félix passed each other in the street, none the wiser to the other.

“Do you think-”

“-we’ve ever done that?”

Ladybug and Chat Noir both frowned in thought. 

“I’ve met Chat Noir as a civilian,” Ladybug said honestly.

“And I’ve met you, Milady.”

“So we must’ve at some point.”

“And there was that battle with Refleckta and Poupéflekta, where we both lost our miraculous, right? There’s no way Tikki and Plagg would’ve found us so quickly if we hadn’t been close by.”

She nodded against his shoulder, pulling the blanket a little closer. The first akuma of the movie was Monsieur Pigeon, and Chat wrinkled his nose, as if remembering all the times he had sneezed that day. The scenes played out much like the real akuma battle had, but Ladybug wasn’t sure how accurate it was - they had helped M. Ramier so many times now, that the first battle was fuzzy in her memory. Nowadays, if he were akumatised, they could free him in a little under a minute. The Ladybug and Chat Noir on the screen weren’t yet so coordinated and accustomed to their powers and partner.

“The movie’s a little accurate,” Chat said quietly, as Félix entered his large, rich home and started going through books on a library shelf. “I mean, my name is no where near as lame as  _ Félix.” _

“You’re right,” Ladybug nodded. “I bet it’s even  _ lamer.” _

“Hey!! I have a purrfectly paw-some name!” Chat faked a gasp, clenching his heart as he pretended to faint into her lap, startling her. Ladybug squealed as she nearly slipped sideways, but she steadied herself in time to glare down at the cat sprawled over her legs. He beamed up at her, amused.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yep. I know for a fact that one of the people in the credits’ page has  _ my  _ name!”   
  
“You watched the credits that intensely?” Ladybug giggled, absently ruffling his hair. He preened under her touch, and she thought he’d start purring again. 

“Only because I didn’t have Milady there to distract me. I think I’ve missed most of the film ‘cause I’m too excited to be hanging out with you.”

“We…” Her mouth was moving again before she had fully thought through the implications of her words. “...can hang out more often, if you’d like,  _ mon chaton.” _

Chat sat up suddenly, blocking her view of the screen as his green eyes examined her face. Ladybug bit her bottom lip, wondering if she was about to regret the offer, but before she could come up with some sort of excuse, Chat smiled and said, “I’d like that, Ladybug. I really would.” 

He returned to his original spot, and they leaned into each other again as the scenes switched to the second akuma fight of the movie. Together, they reminded each other of the actual battle against Le Mime, pointing out inaccuracies in the fight as the animated Ladybug and Chat Noir flipped and dodged, twirling their yo-yo and staff. A few times, Chat remembered small details that Ladybug had forgotten, like that Le Mime had used a whip to catch her at one point, and he pointed out the subtle differences in the fight - such as the colours of the bus, the streets they had traveled on, and the placement of certain advertisements. She appreciated his attention to detail, and his sharp memory; these days, akuma fights all blended together for her, although one was rarely easier than the next.

She remembered the ending of the movie quite clearly from the red carpet premiere. It had been left open ended, probably on purpose in the event that the studio got approval for a sequel, but it pulled a trick from the Ladybug and Chat Noir television show: Bridgette and Félix were at the same lycée, in the same class, watching the same teacher. And as the ending credits for the movie rolled, the lawn below started clapping and cheering. Ladybug jolted when Chat started clapping too, but she soon followed suit. 

For a while afterwards, they talked. At first, they focused on the movie, expressing their amazement with the art style and the animation (Ladybug went on a small rant about how drawing and  _ tracking  _ spots would’ve been a nightmare but they had done it so beautifully!) before they descended into slightly more mundane topics. The park was slowly clearing out, and families were heading home for the evening.

“How’d your test on Friday go?” She asked him.

“It...went.” He scrawled. “I don’t think I did too good. I didn’t study the night before because…” Chat trailed off, looking away from her.

“...Because you were worried about me.” Ladybug finished. A wave of guilt washed over her. “ _ Mon chaton, _ I’m so sorry, I didn’t-”   
  
“I know,” he interrupted her with a smile. “But I’m not concerned, honest. I already have top grades in the class, so-”   
  
“You?! Top grades?!”    
  
“Don’t be so surprised, Milady!” Chat said with a wink. “I’d be more than happy to show you my next report card if you want proof.”

She was  _ very  _ tempted to take him up on that. 

“I don’t  _ really  _ believe you,” and the skeptical tilt in her voice proved that. “But I don’t know why you’d lie about it, so it’s gotta be true.”

“You wound me, Milady.” Chat pouted.

“Hey, top marks is very impressive, Chat. I’m proud of you.”

He purred under her praise, and she couldn’t help herself from scratching under his chin. As her fingers pulled away, Ladybug smiled. “If you want to bring your report card,” she started, “I’ll bring mine too. But  _ no  _ information! Only grades and classes.”

“Deal!” Chat cried. “Whoever has the better grades gets to choose the next movie!”

Ladybug blinked, surprised. But then she nodded enthusiastically and held out her first for him to bump. Chat grinned as he pushed his knuckles against her’s; she could feel his ring through the suit.

“Next week?”   
  
“Next week.”

After that, they reluctantly cleaned up. A clock somewhere was chiming nine o’clock, and Marinette had promised her parents she’d be home by nine thirty. Together, they folded the three blankets, put them back into the basket, and threw away the empty popcorn bag and the few pastry papers. They lingered beside the trash bin, and Ladybug knew that she would miss him.

Tonight had been…nice. It was nice to hang out and just be friends. It was nice to get away from her classmates and their pitying looks and cautious expressions. It was nice to get away from Adrien and his worried glances and hesitant words. It was nice to get away from the pressures of school, of home, of her other duties, and hang out with her best friend. Sure, being a superheroine came with a whole slew of other responsibilities, but since there hadn’t been an akuma attack that night, she felt surprisingly...free.

“Milady,” Chat whispered, his voice as quiet as the hum of the street light above them. She hummed in response, eyes drifting over the now empty park before going back to his face.

“Can we...really do this again? Some time?”

“Watch a movie?” She asked.

“No, I mean, hang out…”   
  
Ladybug surprised herself by saying, “Of course,  _ mon chaton. _ Of course.”


	6. Kangaroo Court

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien daydreams about Ladybug, Chat has an unexpected meeting with a friend, and the superheroes tackle another early morning akuma!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starts on the Sunday after Valentine's Day, Feb. 19th.

All of Sunday, Adrien was over the moon and beyond.

His father skipped out on breakfast. Nathalie dictated his homework schedule. His bodyguard wouldn’t let him out of his sight during the afternoon photoshoot. Yet he felt light as air the whole time, wistful and overjoyed. 

“Someone’s in love,” remarked the woman behind him as she finished re-styling his hair. Adrien turned pink.   
  
“I’m not-”   
  
“Don’t try to deny it,” she chuckled. “You’ve been sighing since you got here.”

His laughter came out more nervous than he planned, and his fingers twitched to rub the back of his neck, as was his habit, but he stopped himself. No point in messing up his hair _again._

“Maybe," he admitted. She walked around him to reexamine the front, gently pushing his bangs back into place. Her tongue clicked as she shook her head.

“You’re hesitant? You, of all people?”  
  
He pulled a face that made her laugh.

“I didn’t mean to offend you, M. Agreste.”

“She...got dumped recently. I don’t want to…”  
  
“Ahhh. Say no more. Be her friend, support her; she’ll open her eyes in time.”

Adrien’s heart swelled three sizes as his face relaxed into a lovesick smile. He could only _hope_ that Ladybug would see him like that someday, but... 

Nathalie informed him that he had to practice the piano when he returned home. He softly closed the bedroom door behind him, knowing his bodyguard would linger just on the other side. Adrien glanced from the piano to Plagg, who watched him warily. 

“You really should practice _sometimes,_ kid.” 

“Didn’t realise you were the responsible one here, Plagg.” Adrien said with a grin. But his kwami was right; he had shirked practicing the piano for a week now. He would only grow rustier in time, and his father would test him eventually. He couldn’t find it within himself to care - Gabriel would only be disappointed, even if Adrien had been diligent in his practices.

Still, he pulled up the bench, sat down, flicked the sheet music to the correct page, and laid his fingers on the keys. As he went through the song, Plagg helpfully flipped the pages, but Adrien barely followed the sheet music as he played mostly from muscle memory. He made mistakes, covered them up, accidentally repeated a couple of lines that made Plagg scrunch up his face in confusion, and eventually reached the end of the piece feeling like he had failed. If his father had been listening, he would’ve scolded his son on the spot. 

The second time around, he followed the score to the note, but it didn’t sound right - like it lacked emotion.

For the rest of the afternoon, Adrien played. He changed songs a few times, to prevent boredom, and eventually Plagg drifted off to raid his cheese cupboard, leaving Adrien to flip the sheet music himself. At some point, he stopped reading it. At some point, his fingers just moved on their own, striking the keys into a bittersweet melody that started gloomy and slowly turned content and happy. At some point, he sighed.

“That lady wasn’t kidding,” Plagg observed. “You’ve got it _bad.”_

“I miss her.”

“Akumas don’t normally happen on Sundays.”  
  
“Can we...go out for a run anyway? Put on our bad luck shoes and get some fresh air?”

Plagg eyed him warily, chewing on a bit of cheese, before swallowing and stating, “After dinner?”

“Definitely.”

Nathalie knocked on his door around five, as the sun was starting its downward track and the sky was turning orange. Plagg barely had time to hide before she walked in, tapping the screen of her tablet as her flat voice told him dinner was ready. Adrien left the piano, thanked her as he passed, and went down the stairs to the dining room. 

Every chair at the long table was empty.

He wondered what it would be like to have dinner with Ladybug someday. As he walked to the singular setting at the opposite end of the room, he imagined pulling out a chair for her. The artfully arranged flowers would be from him, a gift that would never be able to rival her beauty. They would share croissants as an appetizer, possibly from that bakery she had mentioned (as it was her favourite), and they would share a meal while talking, smiling, _laughing…_

Adrien stared down at the small meal on his plate. Enjoying and savouring his food had become more and more difficult as his father abandoned more and more meals. Scowling, he picked up the tray and carried it back across the hall. Nathalie stopped him at the door, eyes wide. 

“Adrien, what’re you-”

“He’s not coming, right? I’ll eat in my room and work on homework or something. It’s a waste of time to wait for him if he never shows.”

Navigating around her, Adrien made it all the way back to the privacy of his bedroom before he let another emotion cross his face. For the next half-hour, he sat at his desk and angrily ate his dinner, flipping through his history textbook without reading the words. A picture of Jeanne d’Arc made him pause, and the anger faded - replaced by Ladybug’s flushed face as she corrected herself about her civilian name. An ending in ette, huh? He’d have to keep calling her ‘Buginette’ then.

Thinking about her brought back his wistful smile. Plagg was curled up on his desk, pretending to be asleep, and he flicked open a bright, green eye as Adrien stood up and pushed his tray away. 

“Plagg,” Adrien started.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” the kwami muttered.

 _“Claws out!”_   
  
The sky was a mess of purples and navy blues, shattered by orange and pink clouds as only a sliver of sunlight remained on the western horizon. Chat Noir was a black streak on the rooftops as he jumped from one building to the next. If anyone pointed him out, he didn’t hear them, focused on the cold rush of air against his face and the pounding of his feet on the shingles. This was the freedom he craved, the freedom he wanted, and the only thing that could make today better was if Ladybug were to join him. But she never came out on Sundays unless there was an Akuma - something about family, he figured. If only his own father thought along the same lines.

Forcing the negative thoughts from his head, Chat started on their normal patrol route: past his school, across the park, and over the bridge, all frequent akuma sighting locations. He stopped to say hello to some kids with their parents who were overlooking the Seine, allowing them to snap a few selfies with him, and he performed a few cool tricks for them at their request.

“Do a _Cataclysm!”_ One eager child begged, jumping up and down.

Chat Noir laughed, knelt down next to them, and tried to smile his best, dashing grin.

“But there’s no akuma. I can only use it for emergencies, nothing else!”

“Awww…”

Despite the disappointment, he left the group on good terms, claiming that he had to get back to, “Superhero duties!” 

Patrols honestly felt like formalities. He didn’t _have_ to run around all of Paris, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, but he enjoyed getting out of the house, being free, and running alongside Ladybug on the days she joined him. Chat had long ago sussed out that he transformed more frequently than his spotted partner, but he didn’t mind. 

It made the times he did get to see her all the better. 

It was dark and cold by the time he recrossed the bridge closest to his house. Yet as he passed by Le Grand Paris, he wondered if Chloé was awake. It had been a long time since they had hung out together, like they used to, and Adrien couldn’t guess when things had changed. Out of curiosity, Chat Noir stopped at a building across the street, trying to get a view of Chloé’s room, but the lights were out. Unsatisfied, he leapt to the rooftop of the hotel, landing on all fours on top of a table that shook underneath him.

“Gaahh!”

“Aaaahh!!”

He hadn’t expected someone to be _up_ here!! 

Chloé threw her glass at him, and he batted it away with his stick without thinking. It shattered on the wall of the elevator, sparkling in the dim light.

“Get outta here, you mangy alley cat!”  
  
 _“Mangy?!”_ He repeated, holding a hand over his heart as his eyes widened. “I’ll have you know that I groom _quite_ regularly!”

“Ridiculous,” she growled, but her glare softened into a frown and a displeased expression. “What do you want, Chat Noir?”

What _did_ he want? Chat supposed that he wanted a friendship with Chloé like he used to have, but they had been friends out of a sort of mutual desperation. Two rich, blond, lonely kids in big houses filled with adults; that wasn’t a healthy premise for a friendship. And he couldn’t try to reforge that relationship now, not while he was Chat Noir. It would be pointless.

“I’m just doing a friendly neighbourhood check on the civilians in the area,” Chat replied. “Everything here seems purrfectly fine.” He chuckled as she rolled her eyes. She and Ladybug would get along well if they tried.

“Whatever, yes, I’m fine. It’s just homework, not an akuma.” She made a shoo-ing gesture with her fingers as she turned back to her table. Laid across it were various books and sheets of paper, and...her book bag? 

Chat was surprised. He had always assumed Sabrina did Chloé’s homework since he had met her friend at school. Curiosity getting the better of him, he got down from his table and walked over, examining all of the papers and the titles of the textbooks. 

“Maths?” He questioned. Chloé rolled her eyes and pushed her homework all into a pile. “Don’t students get a study period?”  
  
“Ugh, and hang around _that_ court of kangaroos for longer than necessary? No thanks.”

Chat frowned, not sure how he felt about Chloé referring to their school as a kangaroo court. Maybe she was referring to Lila or Marinette - both girls were quick to accuse her if anything went wrong. He couldn’t blame them either. He decided to ignore the slight.

“Y’know, I have top marks in maths.”

“What, the alley cat wants to help?”

“That sure looks like a lot of problems.”

“Oh, haha, very funny. Totally _not_ original.”

“Hey, not all math jokes are that bad! Only sum!”

Her glare turned stony. “That was even worse.”

Chat’s grin was lopsided, but he leaned against the table as he watched her straighten the pile of papers. 

“Well, I’m good at algebra, trig, geometry. Even physics!” His smile turned into a wicked smirk. “But not graphs. That’s where I draw the line!”

Chloé’s groan could probably be heard from the street, accompanied by Chat’s laughter. She swept all of her homework and school supplies straight into her backpack, not bothering to see if they made it in or not. Chat picked up a pencil that had rolled off the table and offered it to her. She took it. 

“That was _terrible._ You’re almost as bad as my friend.”

“Oh?” Chat pressed, eager. 

“He told me to go stand in a corner when I was cold. When I asked him why, he said-”

“‘Cause it’s always ninety degrees!” Chat finished as she repeated the line. She threw her hands up and started walking away, but Chat Noir was laughing again. Chloé hesitated, but a small smile appeared on her face. 

“He’d be happy to know that made _someone_ laugh,” she rolled her eyes as she spoke. Ahh, if only she knew! Chat was happy enough that Chloé had remembered his joke. “And it is starting to get rather cold out, so good night, alley cat. Scuttle on home now.”

“I will, Queen Bee. Have a lovely evening!” 

If she was surprised that he had remembered her superheroine name, she didn’t show it. They exchanged a short wave goodbye before Chat vaulted from the top of the building and headed north, hid behind a chimney, and started looping back around so he could go home. The hotel was rather close to Adrien’s house - and it would do him no good if Chloé watched him go into his room. After making sure no one was around to witness Chat Noir sneaking into the Agreste Mansion, he swung himself through the sole open window and ended his transformation with a quiet, “Claws in.”

Plagg instantly went for more cheese, not bothering to open the cupboard door and opting to phase through it. Adrien pulled it open a crack as he walked towards his bed, sitting on the edge of the mattress as Plagg poked his head out, mouth full of camembert.

“You should get some rest,” Plagg mumbled. “Papillon enjoys starting the week off with an Akuma.”

Adrien frowned. “Yeah. If I ever get my claws in that monster, I’m going to throw him into a Monday morning and see how _he_ likes it!” 

They exchanged a high five, evil grins on both their faces, before Adrien yawned behind his hand. He changed into pyjamas, said good night to his kwami, and went to bed…

* * *

...only to be woken up by his phone a few hours later. True to Plagg’s wise words, Papillon had started his usual Monday morning with an akuma. Adrien assumed that because _so_ many people hated Mondays, victims were easy to pick from. 

Chat Noir met Ladybug on a roof overlooking the Place Dauphine. It was a gorgeous historic public square, although its shape was more reminiscent of a triangle. Approximately thirty trees were arranged in neat rows on the sandy ground, each one self-contained inside a small cage, and blue-green benches were sprinkled between them. 

He tried to grumble out a good morning, but she shushed him before pointing at the akuma standing in the middle of the square. Despite it being near the end of winter, all of the trees were full of bright green leaves, red flowers, and the smell of chestnuts was so strong, Chat could almost taste it.

“That’s…”  
  
“Weird, I know.” Ladybug whispered. Slowly, she started swinging her yo-yo in a circle, eyeing the brightly dressed akuma at the center of the square, who was concentrating on making the trees grow. Chat vaguely remembered that all of them had been replaced at some point, due to some disease, but he only knew this because his mother had been sad the old trees had been removed.

“Go that way,” Ladybug muttered, jerking her head in his direction. “We’ll come from both sides. The akuma has gotta be in the tiara.”

After some sneaking around, trying to be as stealthy as possible, Chat spotted the akuma in the middle of the square, waving her arms at the trees. She looked like spring-incarnate with her bright greens and yellows, and plants were growing in her hair and clothes. He watched as the trees sprouted more flowers, and the flowers bloomed into more chestnuts. As he crept forward, trying to keep his eyes on the akuma, his foot caught on a...vine?

“Stop right there!” The vine wrapped tight around his leg, and he frantically tried to pull himself free. He tore at the plant with his claws, but it just kept growing until it was too thick to slice through. All over the square, more vines were bursting through the sandy ground, creeping and growing; on the opposite side, Chat caught a glimpse of red, carefully stepping over the plants. A large, red sack of some kind was in Ladybug’s hands - it must’ve been her Lucky Charm. He averted his gaze from her, hoping to not drag the akuma’s attention towards his partner.

“Seems like I’m all _wrapped_ up,” Chat taunted. “But I’m ready to _spring_ into action if you let me.”

“Oooh, you’ll bloom into your role eventually, Chat Noir. That’s why I need your Miraculous!” The akuma stalked towards him with a wicked grin, raising her hand to make the vines grow faster. Chat hissed and tugged at them, tearing through the smaller ones to prevent them from dragging him down.

_“Cataclysm!”_

“Haaaa-yah!”

Ladybug slammed the sack over the akuma’s head, effectively confusing her, and her head popped out of the top, covered in oats and spluttering. Chat darted forward, breaking free of the largest vine with a kick, and snatched up the tiara with his ring hand. They both watched the dark butterfly flutter off into the sky and gave a sigh of relief before Ladybug captured the akuma and sent it on its way.

_“Bye bye, petite papillon!”_

It was almost sad to watch the magical ladybugs restore the square to its winter appearance. All of the trees stood stark and bare, the dirt seemed drier and dustier, and the threat of snow lingered again. Ladybug helped the civilian to her feet, and she gently spoke to her with a kind expression.

“I know it’s hard, but winter has its place in nature too. The trees will bloom again, in their own time, when resources are plenty. See? Some have new shoots, even now.”

All three of them turned their attention to the closest tree, where Chat could see that some leaves had started to grow back - albeit they were small and pale.

The civilian went on her way after thanking them, and Chat and Ladybug went up to the rooftops. 

“That’s true for you too,” Chat said. “You’ll bloom again in time. It all seems sad now, but you’ll be happy again someday.”

Ladybug stiffened. “I never-”

“You seem down, Milady. I’m here for you.”  
  
The melancholy on her face slowly faded as she smiled. “Thanks, Chat _._ It was just a long day yesterday. And I’m still…” Her gaze dropped and her forehead furrowed. Chat Noir could practically _feel_ the sorrow coming off of her. 

“Recovering,” he finished for her. She opened her mouth to protest, but he held up a hand to stop her. “Take all the time you need, Buginette. Do you still want to patrol tonight?”

“Yes,” Ladybug answered with such fierce determination that Chat was taken aback. Normally she hated hearing that nickname. “I need...time away. Out of the house. This helps. Being Ladybug helps.”

Chat was more surprised than he wanted to admit, but he let his shock melt into a wide smile. Their miraculous beeped in warning. Instead of running away, he held open his arms in a silent offer of a hug. She stared at him, blue eyes shining as the sun slowly came up over the horizon, but after a second of hesitation, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

He laid his head against her own, and he couldn’t stop the rumbling in his chest as he hugged her back. It felt comforting, like home, a _true_ home, but the beeping of her earrings was sharp and insistent in his ears. He flinched at the sound, his purring stopped, and they pulled away. 

“Thank you, _mon chaton.”_

“For you, Milady, anything.”


	7. Stuck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is still trying to move on, but Chat Noir is still fixated on Ladybug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday, River and Will!! <3 I hope you both have a good day!
> 
> To my other readers:  
> The use of _ma chatounette_ this chapter/story is to contrast _mon chaton,_ Ladybug's nickname for Chat Noir. The two phrases mean the same thing ("my kitten"). From my understanding, 'chatounette' can carry a negative connotation without the 'my' in front, so I chose these phrases specifically rather than just 'Chaton', like most authors usually would.
> 
> Starts Monday, Feb. 20th.

The early morning akuma meant that Marinette was up early, that she should’ve had plenty of time to compose herself and get her things together, and that she should've been to school with plenty of time left to spare. Instead, she came back home and laid on her bed and stared at her walls until her mum called out from the kitchen below. 

"Marinette! You're going to be late!"

Her voice caught in her throat. Swallowing thickly, struggling to move her body, she tumbled out of bed, pulled on some clean clothes, brushed her hair into pigtails, and dragged her backpack down the stairs. Sabine watched her with a worried expression, and she opened her mouth to speak while presenting her daughter with a croissant, but Marinette held up a hand to stop her.

"I'm fine,  _ maman.” _

Her mother didn’t believe her; Marinette could tell because the look of concern on her face didn’t fade. She took the offered croissant, thanked her with a kiss on the cheek, and headed out the door. The school bell rang as she crossed into the courtyard, and Marinette scrambled up the stairs to reach her first class of the day just as Mlle Bustier started taking attendance.

Throughout class, Marinette could  _ feel  _ people staring at her. Most of the time, their attention was on the board as Mlle Bustier went over Friday’s French lesson, their tests and their scores, and started on the next lecture. As she talked about literature and grammar, Alya nudged her and gave her a look.

The same look her mother had given her that morning. 

_ “I’m fine,”  _ Marinette mouthed, shoulders stiffening. But Alya just shook her head and returned to her tablet, writing down notes from the board. Marinette tried to do the same, but her mind was divided - especially after Adrien cautiously peeked over his shoulder. She tried to give him a small smile, but she must’ve tried too hard; he flinched and looked back at his own notes.

At lunch, after Adrien and some others went home to eat, the rest of their class filed into the cafeteria. Lila had her usual gaggle of friends, telling her tall tales, but Marinette ignored her in favour of focusing on her friends. At first, she tried to strike up a conversation with Rose - but everyone seemed distracted.

“Rose, did you and Juleka work on those lyrics? How’d they come out?”   


“Oh…”

Alix stabbed her salad, splintering a tomato. Her fork made a sharp  _ clang!  _ against the metal tray that drew the rest of the table’s attention.

“I still can’t believe he  _ did  _ that to you, Marinette. After all our hard work!”

Ah. 

Marinette groaned, put her head in her hands, and pulled at her hair. For a second, she was angry, fiery, fierce, but it bubbled up into her throat and she swallowed it down. Lifting her head, Marinette leveled a determined gaze at the girls gathered around her table: Rose, who was still mourning the lost romance; Alya, who looked like a combination of guilty and regretful; and Alix, who was squishing her tomato down with her fork, probably pretending it was Adrien’s head. 

“I’m _ fine. _ I know I don’t look it, I know I don’t always  _ act  _ like it, but seriously. I’m okay. I’m going to  _ be  _ okay.” Marinette found herself pulling strength from Chat Noir’s words: One day, she would bloom again, as strong and intense as before, but right now, she needed to recover. He had helped her understand that more than anyone else at this table had, even Alya, and the revolution was shocking. Trembling from her realization, Marinette forced herself to continue. “I… I can’t move forward if I don’t try, and I need support right now. Not pity.”

Rose and Alix both glanced away, ashamed. But Alya wrapped an arm around Marinette’s shoulders with a grin. “I’m proud of you, Marinette. That’s a very brave thing to say.”

“Thanks, Alya.”

“Oh, Marinette! I’m sorry for bursting in on you, but I couldn’t help but overhear. Is this about what happened with  _ Adrien?  _ I really would put in a good word for you, but-”   
  
“Lila,” Marinette forced out her name. She turned in her seat to face her, steeling herself to look her in the eye. “I’ve accepted that Adrien isn’t interested in me, so I politely request that you  _ don’t  _ do that.”

Even Lila seemed shocked. She hid it well with a flip of her hair, and the self-satisfied smirk that crossed her face made Marinette grind her teeth. 

“I really do admire your resilience, Marinette!”

“Thank you, Lila. Maybe you should consider doing the same!” Grinning, she turned back to her food, but Lila laid a hand on her shoulder, forcing Marinette to look at her again. The rest of the girls were watching them cautiously, most of them well aware that Lila and Marinette didn’t get along.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, Adrien’s not interested in  _ you  _ either, is he?”   


Only Marinette saw the rage in her eyes before Lila laughed, told some lie to the rest of her classmates that,  _ of course, _ Adrien was interested in her! That had to be why he helped her so much with her schoolwork. Alya and Rose pulled Lila away from the table to talk to her elsewhere, and Alix watched them go with a funny look on her face. 

“Adrien’s not interested in Lila,” she stated. Marinette chuckled in response, finally glad to have an opportunity to continue eating her lunch.

“No, I don’t think he is either.” 

And that was  _ comforting, _ because Marinette was sure she would’ve done something extra stupid if she had found out her crush was in love with a liar like Lila. At least he was aware of her tendencies.

Alya destroyed that small comfort.

“You didn’t have to say that to her, y’know.” She said in greeting as they walked back to class together. Marinette tried to protest, already knowing who her friend was referring to, but Alya stopped her before she could get a word out. “I know you’re going through a lot right now, and I want to respect that, Marinette. But jealousy is  _ not  _ the answer.”

“I’m not  _ jealous,” _ Marinette bristled. Alya gave her a pointed look. “I was just telling the truth, unlike her. Adrien isn’t interested in Lila; haven’t you seen how uncomfortable he is around her?”

Alya looked uneasy for a moment, but she pressed onward. “Did Adrien tell you  _ exactly  _ who he was in love with?”   
  
Marinette flinched. It was cruel of Alya to throw that in her face. “No, but-”

“Then maybe it’s not a good idea to assume. Adrien needs to make his own choices too.”   
  
“And I respect that,” Marinette said quietly, but Alya was already walking through the classroom door and Marinette thought that, maybe, her friend hadn’t heard her. 

Despite all the talk during lunch, the only person who treated Marinette the same as before the confession was  _ Chloé _ of all people, and that didn’t say much, did it? Frustrated from talking with Alya, worn down by all the pity she was receiving, all Marinette wanted to do was return home so she could vent to Tikki, cry into her pillows, attempt to do some homework, and run across the rooftops with her feline superhero partner late into the night.

Yet it was Adrien Agreste himself who stopped her from immediately heading home after the bell rang. He laid a hand on her shoulder as she walked through the classroom door, and she took a deep breath before turning around to face him.

“Marinette, can we talk?”

So badly, so so  _ so  _ badly, she wanted to tell him no. But one look into his pleading green eyes, and Marinette turned to putty. She obviously still had feelings for him, she was  _ stuck  _ on him, and he was taking advantage of that!

“I-I… Yeah.”

They lingered right outside of the classroom until most of their classmates walked away and only Mlle Bustier was left inside grading worksheets. Lila had tried to talk to Adrien, but once again, Marinette would have to thank Alya’s clever intervention. 

“Marinette,” Adrien started. His hands were curled tightly around the strap of his messenger bag. “I’m...worried. About you. I know that most people don’t stay friends after something like... _ that, _ but you’re one of my best friends. I… I don’t want to lose your friendship just because…” He bit his bottom lip. Marinette desperately tried to find the right words, but her own brain was sluggish and stupid around him. It always had been.

“Because you reflected- err,  _ rejected, _ my feelings?” 

“Yeah…”

“I… Adrien, I…”   


But she was struggling to find her own words as well. She knew that Adrien was acting selfish, but Marinette forgave him for that; he had so few friends, and he hung on tight to the ones he had. Yet as much as she wanted to maintain a friendship with him, she needed space. She needed time. He was a great friend, and she genuinely enjoyed hanging out with him, but right now, he wasn’t what she needed - what she  _ wanted. _ She would miss him.

Marinette took a deep breath and forced her emotions into words.

“I would absolutely love to be your friend, Adrien.” She spoke smoothly, shocking both of them. Calling upon Ladybug’s confidence and Chat Noir’s encouragement, Marinette forced herself to speak one word after another. “But right now, I need time...away. To heal. To...think about things. Without you.” She flinched at her choice of words, and he did too.

“I guess this is a little selfish of me, isn’t it?” Adrien muttered. Marinette’s eyes widened.

“No, no!” She waved her hands in front of him, panicked. “I mean, yes! But it’s okay to want friends! And to keep your friends! And it’s okay to reject someone because you’re…” She couldn’t say the words, so she waved her hand in the air to refer to the girl he was in love with. Adrien nodded in understanding.    
  
“As time goes by, maybe I won’t be stuck on you anymore. But I can’t be your friend right this second, Adrien. I’m sorry.”

_ “I’m _ sorry, Marinette. I… I didn’t want to push you.” He wasn’t looking at her anymore as he scratched the back of his head. For the first time, Marinette thought he looked lost. “Just…” He looked back up at her, and she stared straight into beautiful, begging, confused green eyes. It felt like her heart was in her throat. “Just let me know when you want to play some video games again, okay?” 

Adrien’s current smile wasn’t the best smile she had seen on him. It was more like the ones he wore in photoshoots, for the camera, and for Chloé. Marinette could appreciate that he was trying, and she nervously reached forward and laid a gentle hand on his arm, the one still clinging to his messenger bag. 

“I will. Have a hood-  _ good! _ \- evening, Adrien.”

“Have a good evening, Marinette.”

They nodded to each other and Marinette headed down the stairs first. She picked up her pace when she realised that Adrien was awkwardly following her into the courtyard. It took most of her self control to not run the rest of the way home, like she had nearly a week ago, but it was a major relief to exit the school and finally depart from his line of sight. Bypassing her parents in the bakery and offering them a quick, “I’m home!”, Marinette returned to her bedroom and started the process of checking on her plants, organizing her schoolwork, and trying (and failing) to not think about Adrien.

It ended with frustrated tears and gritted teeth.

At dinner, her parents weren't as receptive to her either. They watched her with the same expressions most of her classmates had during the day, as if she were a fragile bomb, and Marinette found herself growing tired. All she wanted…

All she wanted to do was go upstairs, pretend to be asleep, and transform into Ladybug so she could join Chat Noir on the rooftops of Paris. 

And after the dinner dishes were cleaned, dried, and put away, that was  _ exactly  _ what she did. 

Out here, with the cold night breeze and the moon hanging in the sky, with sparkling stars and shining lights, it was suddenly easier to breathe. Ladybug took a deep breath before allowing herself to swing through the air, ziplining from one chimney to the next, hoping that the sudden wave of relief wasn’t what was making her face feel wet. 

When Chat Noir finally caught up to her, he was laughing. The grin stretched across his face was the biggest grin Ladybug swore she’d ever seen on him, and the contagious, bubbling laughter coming from his chest made her giggle and whoop and shriek in happiness. They built off of each other, running and flying and leaping and  _ soaring, _ and her tears changed from ones of grief to ones of belly aches and pure jubilation. 

They practically chased each other to the top of the Eiffel tower, the  _ very  _ top, past the observation deck, and they only stopped once they reached the tip of the radio transmitter. Breathing heavily, they glanced at each other and laughed again, unable to stop themselves. Exhaustion set in, and they collapsed, leaning against the other for support as they perched on the pinnacle of the tallest structure in Paris. 

“That was fun, Chat.” Ladybug said quietly, still trying to catch her breath. It puffed up in the cold air, but the sharp chill felt amazing in her burning lungs. She rarely felt physically tired in her suit, and she wondered where the exhaustion came from. 

“I agree,” he panted. “It’s always a joy to run alongside you, Milady.”

She smiled and then looked out over Paris. Her eyes flicked from one suburb to the next, admiring the lights and criss-crossing streets, before her gaze swung around to meet his. Chat Noir was watching her, but the look of content he wore was a refreshing expression after dealing with her friends, her parents, and Adrien all day.

But there was a pain in his eyes that she could read, and Ladybug furrowed her brow as she tried to decipher it. Quickly, it turned into confusion as he noticed her concentration.

_ “Mon chaton,” _ she started, hoping that the nickname would get him to be open with her. “Is something bothering you?”

He winced, looking away, his cat eyes narrowing as his tail flicked in annoyance. Ladybug adjusted their position so they were sitting side-by-side, but close enough that their shoulders touched. She put a hand on his knee and added, “I’m always willing to listen, Chat.”   
  
“I know,” he said in a low voice. “And… Honestly, LB, you might be the best person I can talk to about this. I hope.”

She blinked in surprise, before pushing him for more information. 

“So uh,” he scratched the back of his head with his free hand, the other having placed itself inside Ladybug’s. Their joined hands were loose, lingering on top of his thigh. “There’s this...girl.”

Ladybug raised an eyebrow. “Ooohh?” She cooed. 

“Not like that!!” Chat quickly corrected. “Let’s… Let’s call her  _ ma chatounette.” _ He cleared his throat before continuing. Ladybug made sure to be patient; his patience with her had allowed her to come forward about her own personal issues, and she would return the favour. 

“On Valentine’s Day,  _ ma chatounette  _ gave me a gift and confessed that she had feelings for me. I was really flattered, and she’s a great girl, one of my best friends. But I turned her down, because…” Chat trailed off, but Ladybug knew why. She nodded in understanding, and he took a deep breath before continuing. 

“I didn’t want to lie to her, she deserves more than that. She’s one of the most amazing people I know. I don’t think I would’ve  _ disliked  _ dating her, but it would’ve felt like I was...cheating. Maybe. I don’t know.”

“It wouldn’t have been…” Ladybug added quietly, but Chat shook his head.

“Not the point. Anyway, I feel really guilty that I rejected her.  _ Ma chatounette  _ deserves more than anyone else I know in my civilian life to be happy. She goes out of her way so often for others; I could only aspire to be as selfless as she is.” And here, Chat flinched, his cat ears flicking backwards. A look of pure  _ pain  _ crossed his face. 

“I don’t want to be selfless,” he said quietly. “I still want her as my friend. I want to hang out with her and do things with her and get to know her better. It’s inconsiderate of me to want those things, but I want them  _ so badly.” _

“But not enough to date her?” Ladybug asked, her voice as quiet as his.

“I love you, Milady.” Chat Noir looked at her again. “It would be unfair to  _ ma chatounette  _ to enter a relationship with her when I’m still stuck on _ you.” _

Ladybug could clearly see where he was coming from. Chat had considered the dynamics of his emotions and the feelings of his friend. She thought about his problem for a while, and she remarked on how similar it was to what she was going through with Adrien. She figured this was what Chat meant when he had said she was the best person he could talk to about this. Ladybug could see and understand this from his kitten’s point of view, and she could advise him best on how to proceed.

She decided that the ideal advice would have to be honest and blunt. 

“Leave her alone,” Ladybug started. “Give her space and time. I highly suggest making peace with the fact that she may not want to be around you right now. I know you’re desperate, Chat, but that’s only gonna push her away. She’ll come forward on her own eventually, and you’ll just have to be patient and accepting for when she finally does. Otherwise, act  _ normal  _ around her, be kind, listen to her if she wants to talk, but  _ don’t  _ lead her on.”   
  
His face pulled into a weird sneer that Ladybug responded to with a glare of her own. “I’m serious, Chat Noir,” she said. “You’re in a delicate spot right now. Don’t give her any ideas that you might be reciprocating her feelings. No flirting, no smirking, no winking, and definitely no touching.”

Well, at least he had the dignity to look ashamed of himself. “I… I don’t think I’ve ever flirted with her before…” He mumbled. “Compliments, sure, but not flirting.”

“Sometimes you seem to mix up the two,” Ladybug commented, and he grumbled his agreement. “Nothing wrong with that, I guess, but just be careful around her from now on.” Slowly, Chat nodded. 

“I’ll try.”   
  
“And don’t talk about her behind her back!” Ladybug insisted, but his laughter was unexpected.

“I’d never do that to her.”   
  
“Good,” Ladybug said firmly. “Maybe...you can try and do something you two used to do before? Something friends do.”

Chat smiled softly. “We played video games together once. I could never win against her, but it was a lot of fun! I’d love for a chance to try to beat her again.” 

As Ladybug answered more and more of his questions, Chat grew happier and happier. His joy was genuine and contagious, and Ladybug was more than pleased to help him with his _ chatounette, _ giving him as much advice as she could muster. She was astonished by her desire to help him, but her eagerness overrode any negative emotions. The night dragged on, and when their fingers started to shake from the cold, they decided to descend the Eiffel Tower and return home. They took their usual pause on their usual rooftop before they went their separate ways.

“Thank you, Ladybug, for everything tonight.” Chat said as he looked out over the twinkling lights of Paris. When he looked back at her, his green eyes were relaxed and sleepy, like a content cat. 

“It was nothing,  _ mon chaton. _ I’m happy I could help. Thank you for running with me.”

His grin could rival the moon. “Always a purr-leasure, Milady. You know where to reach me if you want to lose a race!”

She laughed as he winked and extended his stick over the side of the building.  _ “Sure, _ Chat! In your dreams! Go get some sleep!” 

“As you wish! Good night, Buginette!”

Ladybug watched him go, realizing she had never particularly liked that nickname until just now. She wondered when that had changed. Shaking her head, she headed home to her own bed to sleep.

* * *

After her Monday run with Chat Noir, Marinette went through Tuesday with grace and tranquillity. She arrived at school on time despite her late night out, breezed through her classes, Adrien didn’t look at her with pity the whole day,  _ and  _ she managed to have lunch with her friends without them talking about the blond boy and sending him glares. Overall, a great day!   


Until Nino remembered to hand out his birthday invitations. Alya had gently reminded him that he had yet to distribute the cards, and he looked mortified as he dug through his backpack. Marinette tried to placate him as he panicked. 

But he emerged from the depths of his cluttered bag with the cards in hand, and he promptly handed out three: one to Alya, one to Adrien, and one to Marinette. “My best buds!” Nino said with a wink, before walking up the stairs to the rest of the class and handing out a few more cards. Marinette frowned at the invitation, eyes flickering towards Adrien’s, but Alya stopped her before she could say anything.

“Please don’t tell me you’re considering  _ not  _ going, M!” Alya accused her. Marinette laughed awkwardly. 

“No, no! I was just trying to remember if I had uhh, anything going on that weekend. Yeah!”

The date on the card was for Saturday next week. She was pretty sure Chat had wanted to hang out some more, but they had yet to establish anything official for  _ next  _ week (and unbeknownst to her, Chat Noir was struggling with a similar conflict of interest). She’d just have to tell him they would have to wait on that movie, regardless of who had the better grades. 

“You best not! I told you to keep it free for a reason!”   
  
“You... You did?”

Marinette honestly couldn’t remember, and Alya touched her fingers to her brow and shook her head. Smiling softly to try and placate her friend, Marinette said, “I don’t think I have anything going on. I’ll do my best to make it.”

Alya did a little cheer and hugged her close. “You better! I want  _ all  _ of Nino’s friends there!” Alya sent a glare at Adrien, who gave her an awkward smile before clearing his throat, excusing himself, and vacating the classroom. 

The two girls started chatting about what they would wear, what they should bring, what snacks they could snag, and possible gift ideas. Yet with Nino still in the room, they didn’t continue that conversation for long. 

The distraction was welcomed, because honestly, Marinette had no  idea how she was going to survive a party if  _ Adrien  _ was going to be there.


	8. It's Just A Lot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir compare grades. Adrien attends Nino's birthday party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The LadyNoir meeting happens on Friday the 24th of February. Nino's party takes place on Saturday the 4th of March. This is one of the longest chapters, I think, partly because I had to break it up at some point. Enjoy!

In order to ensure that his report card was free of revealing information, Adrien had to download it from the school’s website, edit it in a program, and then print it out at the public library from a flash drive. While he could’ve used his home printer, or the printer at school, both methods would have required the use of a wifi connection - and considering that he had done more than _just_ white-out his name and other incriminating information, Adrien wasn’t eager for the file to potentially fall into either Nathalie’s or his librarian’s hands.

On Friday evening, they met up without the presence of an akuma. Two more had happened throughout the week, but their interactions had been quick and required, purely Superhero partner related. Yet Chat Noir couldn’t help but notice that Ladybug was happier, more graceful, and more focused than she had been lately. She was like a bird that had grown out its clipped feathers and flown again. 

Thinking about her brought a smile to his face that she stared at inquisitively. Ladybug waved a hand in front of his face, and Chat glanced at it before pulling a silly face that made her giggle. 

“I brought my grades,” she said, sitting down against a warm chimney. Chat sat across from her, surprised when she opened her yo-yo and pulled out a piece of paper. 

“Wait, wait…” He stopped her as she looked at him in confusion. “How’d you _do_ that?!”

She laughed. “You can’t?!”

“I… I don’t know!!”

He unzipped a pocket on his suit and pulled out his own report card, slightly crumpled around the edges from his journey here, but intact all the same. It hadn’t been pulled out of his stick though.

“I have to put things in my pockets. I even have to put down my bookbag before transforming.”  
  
“I have a purse,” Ladybug admitted. “Whatever’s inside of it when I transform, I can access through the yo-yo. It’s convenient, but I can’t always grab the right thing, and I don’t have access to my phone.”

“Maybe I should carry a purse around with me from now on,” Chat Noir laughed, and Ladybug shook her head with a chuckle. 

Together, they unfolded their report cards and handed them off to each other. They both took a deep breath, counted to three, and glanced down at the papers. 

Wow. Ladybug was _smart._

Well, he knew that already. But sometimes being quick on one’s feet was different than being book-smart, yet her grades proved that she was an avid student as well. She had high marks in nearly everything - six classes in total, he counted, but she had whited out what looked to be an extracurricular class from the schedule. Interestingly enough, there was a small breakdown of her grades from each class, like his collège did, but Chat Noir had never been to another school besides Françoise Dupont. Maybe all collèges and lycées did grades the same way.

Ladybug was staring at his report card with wide eyes, and slowly, they both laid the papers side-by-side, Chat Noir moving beside her and flipping his around so they could compare them. She had _really_ good grades, but her brow was furrowed as she whispered fiercely.

“Seventeen, plus twenty, plus nineteen…”  
  
“Are you seriously trying to do the _maths,_ Buginette?!” Chat cried. She growled at the interruption but relented. 

“Yes, Chat! We made a _bet,_ and I need to know if I lost!”

He chuckled, but together, they counted up their individual scores and compared them. When she didn’t like the end result, they switched cards (so he was adding up her numbers and she, his), and when the answer was _still_ the same, she demanded they find the average of the total scores, which…

“Face it, Milady. I have a higher grade.”

“There’s _no way!_ You goof off in class all day and _still_ score this well?! You even put, ‘Chat Noir’s Repurrt Card’ at the top!” 

He grinned mischievously. “Is that the only pun you noticed?”

Blue eyes narrowed at him, and she looked over the rest of the paper in horrid curiosity.

Acatdemics. Mathemeowtics. Clawmistry. Hisstory. 

Ladybug groaned.

“And pawdon me, but I _don’t_ ‘goof off in class’. I take my studies _very_ seriously.”

She didn’t look like she believed him, but she was still upset about her loss. Her grade average was only one point below his - she had a perfect score in her extracurricular, and he didn’t have a perfect score at all - and from a first glance, their grades were very similar. But the numbers didn’t lie, and he had edged out just past her. 

“You better not pick a romantic movie, Chat Noir.” Ladybug threatened, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. He laughed and waved her suggestion away. He wasn’t about to ruin what precious time he had earned with her by forcing her to go on a date with him; not when he was so close to having an _actual_ chance at an _actual_ date sometime in the future.

“I was thinking,” he started honestly. “That same park is going to show ‘My Life as a Courgette’ in a few weeks. I know it’s supposed to be a kids’ movie, but there’s not much showing in the theatre I’d like to see, and you’re right: it’d be weird for us to go as superheroes to an indoor cinema, and-”

Ladybug suddenly giggled. Chat stopped his rambling, and his cheeks burned in embarrassment. “Sorry…” He mumbled.

“I’d love to see ‘My Life as a Courgette’ with you, _mon chaton.”_

If Chat Noir thought seeing a movie with his Lady would be the happiest night of his life, then he was not prepared for the pure jubilation that filled him when she agreed to do it again. 

* * *

The second he returned home after their brief patrol, Adrien rushed to his computer and purchased the movie tickets. Right after he made the purchase, he cursed and refunded them; his name would be on the tickets and he had made the purchase with a card. Adrien wondered how Ladybug had picked up her tickets. After browsing through the park’s website, he found the company hosting the movies. Apparently he could go to special, select locations and purchase physical tickets from a vendor. The grocer a block away was one such locale, and Adrien set up a reminder in his phone to visit the store during lunch on Monday. Satisfied, he got into pyjamas and went to bed.

In the morning, Adrien didn’t bother telling Nathalie about the party and sleepover he had been invited to next weekend. He already knew the answer, for it rarely changed: No. Marinette’s birthday party had been an exception, it seemed, simply because his father had been impressed by her once before. Yet this party was for _Nino_ , someone his father had already once forbidden him from being friends with. No, Adrien already had a plan in mind: He would retire early Saturday evening, probably claiming a cold or just feeling under the weather, sneak out as Chat Noir with his sleepover bag, and if anyone found out? Oh well, he’d handle the consequences of that later. What were they going to do, _ground him?_ He would laugh at the irony if it weren’t so depressing. 

For most of the weekend, he worked on a combination of homework, tutoring, two photoshoots, piano practice, and a fencing session with Kagami and other, more serious, members of the team. For the remainder, he ran across rooftops with Ladybug, chased down an akuma Sunday afternoon, got his head whacked into a brick wall, and looked forward to Monday morning at school.

And besides purchasing movie tickets at lunch after pleading with his driver to let him visit the grocer, Adrien’s week went by as normal as possible. Marinette was still avoiding him, but she was content enough to exchange small conversation if he let her initiate it. Lila was still lying, but she wasn’t lying to his face anymore, which he appreciated. Nino was nervous about his birthday party, but he “Yaahhooo!!”ed with excitement when Adrien proudly told him he was going, no matter what his father said.

“Proud of you, my dude! With the whole squad there, this party's gonna be _lit!”_

“Lit?”

On Friday, during study hall, Adrien agreed to meet Nino at the park on Saturday so he could lead him to Alya’s place. Nino’s parents would be working that evening, and while they were okay with him having a co-ed birthday party, they wanted an adult present to supervise and ensure a safe environment, just in case they got a little stupid. Alya’s older sister was the best, closest option; Adrien flinched at the memory of Anansi kicking Chat Noir around like a paper bag. Hopefully, there’d be no repeat encounters of _that._

So after a Saturday photoshoot, homework, piano practice, and dinner, Adrien informed Nathalie he was going to bed early, with the sun just barely starting to set. When she asked him if he was okay, a clear frown on her face, he waved her off.

“Just tired. I don’t have anything else for tonight, right?”

She tapped around on her tablet, shook her head, and wished him a good night.

Once he was alone in his room, Plagg and he exchanged a quiet high-five before they scuttled around and packed a quick, overnight duffle bag for the sleepover. He made sure to bring cheese for his kwami, pyjamas (and _not_ the Ladybug ones!), a couple of video games from the shelves, and the present for Nino that he had hidden in his cabinet. It was horribly wrapped, despite Adrien’s attempt to do a half-way decent job, but it was covered and signed and that was all that mattered. 

After sending a quick text to Nino to let him know he was on his way, Adrien turned to his kwami with a smirk. “Ready, Plagg?!”

“Let’s go _purr-_ tay!!” 

_“Claws out!”_

Chat Noir stopped in an alleyway to detransform, and Adrien lightly jogged to the park, energy still flowing through him, exhilaration and anxiety making him antsy. He had snuck out! Again! Given, the particular feat in and of itself wasn’t too difficult when he had access to a magical suit, but the mere act of disobeying his father filled him with as much adrenaline as facing down an akuma with his Lady.

It wasn’t just Nino who Adrien met up with at the park. The whole party had come down to greet him: Alya and Marinette, who both smiled and waved as Nino hugged him; Max and Alix, who shook their heads at Nino’s overreaction; and Kim and Lila, who turned toward the commotion in slight surprise. Eight students altogether gathered around and talked, sharing macarons that Marinette had brought over from her parent’s bakery on the corner. They started walking back to Alya’s soon after they had finished their snack. 

Kim and Alix were reenacting a tale of amazing athletic feats to Nino when Adrien noticed that Lila and Marinette had fallen behind. Hands in his pockets, he slowed his pace until Alya and Max passed him by, and he listened intently. 

“-away from him.”  
  
“Lila, I’m not-”   
  
“Leave them be, Adrien.” Alya grabbed his arm and pulled him forward. He nearly stumbled over his feet as he caught up to her. “Marinette promised she’d play nice today, so I’m not worried.” 

He furrowed his brow. Marinette wasn’t the one he was worried about ‘playing nice.’ 

“I should talk to them.”

Alya pushed her lips together and hummed. “I don’t think you should. They need to figure this out between themselves.”

“If we let them do that, it’ll just get worse.” He gently shrugged off her grip on his arm. “Sorry Alya, I have to do _something.”_

She still looked unsure, but she politely turned her attention back to the rest of the party as Adrien fell back to walk beside Lila and Marinette, both of whom stopped their conversation to watch him. Lila smiled politely, but Marinette looked uneasy.

“Hey, I’m glad you could make it!” He said to Marinette first, grinning. She giggled, and he was happy to see her relax and smile. 

“I could say the blame- _same_ to you,” she replied. “You don’t get to join us too often.”

“I snuck out,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. Lila gasped. “I wouldn’t miss Nino’s birthday for the world.”

“You’re a _great_ friend, Adrien.” Lila said. “That’s very brave of you to risk your father’s wrath. What if he finds out?” 

Adrien frowned. “I’ll probably be grounded.”

Marinette snorted, and then squeaked and covered her face. Adrien tried hard not to laugh at her expense. The irony _was_ hilarious, after all.

Lila, however, must’ve missed it. “That would be tragic. You wouldn’t get to tutor me anymore, and I really do need the extra help for next week’s test…”

“You’re tutoring Lila?” Marinette asked quietly. Adrien bit his lip. 

“She’s doing really good, actually.” He said honestly. Lila stiffened, and her gaze narrowed into something hard. “Her grades are better than mine in some places.”

Marinette looked around Adrien to glare at the other girl, but Lila was already changing the subject. 

“Anyway, Adrien, let’s leave Marinette alone, yeah? She’s been through a lot, and she doesn’t need you around right now, right Marinette?” Lila said sweetly, standing as close as she could to Adrien and gently pushing him forward. He resisted. 

“...Is that true?” He asked her quietly. He watched Marinette nibble her bottom lip; she was obviously nervous about being put on the spot, especially by Lila. Adrien realised what the redhead was trying to accomplish after Marinette awkwardly shook her head. 

“Lila,” Adrien said sharply. She looked at him with wide eyes, playing innocent. “Please uh, don’t do that. I’d hate for anyone to use _my_ feelings against me, and Marinette can decide on her own if she wants my company or not.”

The seconds that followed, where Lila glared at him and Marinette stared at him in shock, were the most awkward of his life. He nearly took it all back when Lila suddenly snorted and picked up her pace.

“Have it your way, Adrien.”

They both breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Thanks,” Marinette said quietly. 

“No problem.”

“It’s just a lot,” she continued, her voice a whisper. “Talking with her. Dealing with her. She’s always lying.”

Adrien made a noise of agreement. “I shouldn’t be surprised,” he murmured. “But I always am.”

The tension was thick between them, and Alya seemed to sense that Lila was upset. She was glaring back at him as Lila whispered to her. This was way too much stress for a birthday. 

“This is supposed to be a party, right?” Adrien asked with a wink. Marinette gave him a wary look.   
  
“Yeah…”   
  
“Let’s have some fun then.”

Adrien, hoping to ease the tension, cleared his throat to grab everyone’s attention - thankfully, Alix and Kim’s story was finished - and started telling as many jokes as he could. 

“So did you guys hear about the kidnapping in that park yesterday?” He started, a serious expression on his face. Alya gasped and moved to stand beside him.

“No way! Seriously?!” She looked concerned.

“Yeah, I heard they finally woke him up around eight.”

It took a second for Alya to get the joke, but when she did, she lightly punched Adrien in the arm. “You had me going there for a moment, Agreste! I take my sisters there all the time!” Several of his classmates had groaned.

Nino, on the other hand, was smug. “Now you guys get to deal with the horror I go through on the daily.”

“Hey!” Adrien flashed Nino a betrayed look. “My jokes are _amazing.”_

“Hit us with another one then,” Alix dared.

He put his hand to his chin in thought and snapped his fingers when he came up with another one. 

“What’s worse than raining cats and dogs?”

Most of them looked confused, but Alix said, “What?” with a bored drawl. 

“Hailing taxis!”

Alix and Kim laughed, but the rest of the group groaned. 

“Do you know why fish always get good grades?” 

“Why?” This time from Max.

“Because they live in schools!”

Lila politely requested another.

“How does a cucumber become a pickle?”

No one said anything, but they were all watching him, expecting a punchline. 

“It goes through a _jarring_ experience!”

Marinette actually laughed this time, a small chuckle that made her shoulders shake. Nino shook his head, clearly having heard that one before. Lila looked like she regretted asking for a joke.

“What kind of cat works at the hospital?”

Silence, until…  
  
“A first aid kitten,” Marinette said quietly. Everyone turned to look at her, and Adrien was too shocked to be offended that his punchline had been stolen from him. She blushed and fidgetted, refusing to look at him. “A...friend of mine told it to me. A long time ago.”

It wasn’t entirely an original joke, Adrien knew. He had certainly used it on Ladybug before, when they were facing a doctor-turned-akuma. Yet he had never heard it from someone in real life, and a warmth spread through him.

“Enough jokes and puns, Adrien!” Alya demanded, pushing him up the stairs as they all paused outside her apartment building. “Even Nino isn’t impressed, and it’s _his_ birthday!”

The Cesaires’ flat was decorated for Nino’s party. The banner hanging in the kitchen was undoubtedly made by Marinette, and the streamers were in Nino’s favourite colours. A few balloons were taped to the table dedicated to presents. The cake on the kitchen counter looked professionally made, and Adrien recognised the Dupain-Cheng bakery symbol on the box. After he placed his poorly wrapped gift on the table (and he was relieved to see that he was not the only one who had had a struggle with some wrapping paper), Adrien joined the rest of the group in the living room. They were debating video games, but Alya separated herself from the discussion to play hostess.

“You can put your bag in my room,” she stated. “You’re staying the night, right?”

Adrien blinked. “Isn’t everyone?”  
  
“Just the four of us.”

“Four?”

Nino, Alya, him, and…

“Marinette too.”

_Ah._

Swallowing thickly, he followed Alya to her room, set down his bag, and she gave him a small tour of her apartment: bathroom here, her sister’s room there, parent’s bedroom down that hallway, if he needed anything to feel free to ask or help himself. Their apartment was small, in comparison to his house at least, but it was homely and lived in. He nearly tripped over a toy in the hallway, could see that the bathroom counter was cluttered with toothpaste tubes and hairbrushes, and the couches in the living room had blankets over the top.

All eight of them eventually settled on a video game tournament until the pizza arrived. They drew lots to decide the order, popped in the game, and Max and Alix went first. Adrien hung back, watching, before absently sitting down on the couch - only noticing Marinette when she squeaked and tensed.

“Sorry,” he said quietly as he started to stand, remembering earlier. “I’ll-”

“No, you’re kind- _it’s fine.”_ She said, but Adrien could see that she was fidgeting in her lap. When she caught him staring, Marinette folded her hands to still her fingers.

“...I won’t stay the night if you’re not comfortable with it, Marinette.”

Her blue eyes blew open wide. Adrien had spoken quietly, so as not to be overheard by the rest of the teenagers cheering on Alix as she tried desperately to win against Max, but she was quiet for so long that he wondered if she had heard.

“It’s Nino’s party,” she finally answered, as Max won the first round. “We’re here for Nino. I’m fine with that if you are.”

“Of course. He’s one of my best friends.”

One of his only friends, but she didn’t need to hear _that._

“And he’s one of mine. We’ve known each other since we were little.”

Adrien pondered on what that was like. Sure, he and Chloé had been friends since they were seven, but they hadn’t gone to school together. Max and Alix switched out for Kim and Nino, and Adrien grinned.

“We should cheer him on then, right?” He offered.

Marinette giggled. “Just so we can kick his butt later?” She said with a gleam in her eye. Adrien laughed. 

“Definitely!”

It wasn’t even a close game. Nino had been practising against Adrien, who was easily one of the best players in the room, and Kim didn’t even own the game to begin with. Nino went easy on him, Adrien could tell, and he gave Kim plenty of time to figure out the controls and get in a few free hits. But once Kim started getting serious about kicking Nino off the platform, Nino started to rapidly unleash combo attacks. Marinette cheered him on with her fist-pumping the air, and Alya yelled in excitement as Nino threw Kim’s character off the screen as if it were a ragdoll.   
  
“Ahh, man!!” Kim groaned, setting down his controller with a frown. “Rematch!”   
  
“Later,” Alya demanded, taking the controller from him. “C’mon, _bouton d’or,_ it’s you and me! And I’ve been practising more than Birthday Boy here!”

Adrien accepted the controller Nino offered and sat next to Alya in front of the screen with a smirk. “Buttercup?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, glancing her way as he selected his usual fighter. 

“Nuh-uh uh,” she wiggled a finger in front of his face. “You gotta _win_ that story out of me.”

“Fine,” he said, looking back to the screen and setting down the controller so he could flex and stretch his fingers. “You’re on.”

“Alya!” Marinette whined. Adrien was aware of Alix and Lila giggling behind him. 

“It’s fine, girl, I’ve been practising!”

And she certainly had been, Adrien noted. Their fight started off intense from the get-go: She came at him with everything she had, from complex combos to tricks up her sleeve, and he even fell for a few of her traps. She was clever, more so than Nino, and Adrien forced himself to focus on the screen rather than the cheering voices behind him. Most of them were rooting for Alya, the known underdog in this situation. It made him nervous. It made him slip.

The slip-up cost him half his health. Gritting his teeth, Adrien switched from a defensive stance to an offensive one, and took advantage of one of Alya’s many openings to unleash a flurry of combos that knocked her fighter to the edge of the platform. The group of teenagers behind him gasped, and Alya quietly cursed beside him as he started up another round of attacks. She started pressing buttons, was lucky enough to interrupt one combo, and Marinette groaned when Adrien took _advantage_ of the interruption to fling the fighter off the screen. Alya cried out in indignation, but Adrien laughed and high-fived Nino as the game played its _congratulations!_ message. 

“Awesome, dude!!”

“Dang it!” Alya hit her fist on the ground, peeved, but she pursed her lips before offering her open hand. “Good game, Adrien.”

He shook her hand. “You did amazing, Alya. You almost had me!”

“You’ll have to teach me some time, Adrien.” Lila had replaced Nino as she coyly took the controller from his fingers. “I didn’t know you liked video games so much!”

“It’s something to do when you’re stuck at home,” Adrien shrugged. Alya handed her controller over to Marinette, who had the most intense expression on her face. Lila and her glared at each other, and Adrien stood up and sat back on the couch. Beside him, Alix was glancing back and forth between the girls.

“This is gonna be interesting,” she mumbled. 

“You think so?” Adrien said with a frown. “They don’t get along…”  
  
“That’s _exactly_ why it’s interesting, Buttercup.”

He made a mental note to get that story out of Alya some other time.

It wasn’t clear to everyone at their school that Marinette and Lila disliked one another; the girls often avoided each other more than anything. But Adrien knew that Marinette didn’t like Lila’s lying, and Lila seemed to have it out for Marinette because of it - if the conversation earlier was anything to go by. Alix must’ve been partially aware of what was going on.

“Surely Marinette’s going to win?”

“We’ll see,” Alix said with a smirk.

There was nothing _to_ see, it turned out. 

Just like Nino had done with Kim, Marinette offered Lila a few moments to get the hang of the controls and practice with her fighter. Yet unlike Nino, the second Lila tried to land a hit on Marinette, Marinette defended herself, brought down a fierce combo attack that even had _Max_ stunned, and pushed Lila’s fighter to the edge. Alix whistled low as the rest of them sat in silence.

“Couldn’t even go a little easy on her, could ya?” Alix gloated. Marinette looked back at her and glared. Lila let loose a strangled laugh.

“It’s okay. Look, I’m still in the game!”

Lila’s fighter stood up and tried again. Marinette defended herself, tried to hold some restraint, but Adrien knew her default setting was hardcore. He had done enough games against his classmate to know she found it difficult to hold back, even against newcomers, and more so against people she didn’t like.

But it was obvious to everyone in the room that Lila didn’t stand a chance as the fight dragged on. There was no cheering. No rooting for the underdog. When Marinette finally did her next combo attack, Adrien was convinced it was out of mercy - the silence was telling, and Marinette’s hands were trembling around her controller. 

“Wow, Marinette!” Lila gasped, giving her controller to Max. “Thanks for not completely kicking my butt!”

Adrien could hear the low sarcasm in her voice. Marinette had too, judging by how her jaw clenched. 

“Good game, Lila.” She said simply. Nino tapped her shoulder for the controller, and she handed it over. Her and Alya sat down on the opposite end of the couch, talking in low murmurs. Adrien frowned. Was Alya scolding her?

Alix nudged him. “Don’t stare, it’s creepy.”

He flushed and turned to watch Max and Nino’s match.

And oh dang, he’d have to fight _Marinette_ now.

Because it was Nino’s birthday, Max _seemed_ to let Nino win. To anyone who was as unfamiliar with the game as half of the party, it was a close and tough fight, switching between Nino and Max as the plausible winner. Yet one never gained an advantage over the other until one of Nino’s traps triggered and Max was down and out. Alya cheered and wrapped her boyfriend in a hug, kissed his cheek, and held his hand up above his head as the rest of them clapped. Max chuckled as he came to sit beside Adrien and Alix.

Both of them looked at him in amusement.

“You let him win, didn’t you?” Adrien slyly suggested.

“I do not know what you are talking about," Max said formally, pushing his glasses up his nose as he grinned slyly back. Alix laughed.

“Adrien,” Alya called. “Your turn again!”  
  
“Good luck,” both Alix and Max muttered.

“Thanks. I think.”

They sat down next to each other in front of the screen, controllers in hand. After a moment of hesitation, they both scooted in opposite directions to add a few more inches to the space between them. Adrien inhaled deeply, picked his fighter, and prepared himself to take on Marinette. 

Out of all the matches so far, it was the closest. Both of them knew they could go on forever, and so, they both decided not to stall. With an audience watching, with other people wanting to play, it would be best to leap straight into the action, take what hits they could absorb, and try and land as many hits of their own. As Marinette danced around Adrien, as Adrien skirted under Marinette, as one combo led to another and was interrupted and started again, their fight went on. The clicking sound of calculated button mashing was almost hypnotizing.

He was _so_ close to a victory. This was the closest he had ever come to beating her. Adrien was deeply absorbed in the game, and he shut out the cheers of his classmates as he forced himself to focus. His mouth was dry, his fingers were trembling, but he had to keep his cool, or-

Or she would take advantage of an opening. Which she did. Which she exploited and finished him off, which left the room _shocked,_ and Adrien stared at the screen with his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide. It took him a few seconds to gain his composure.

“Impressive,” Max muttered, coming up beside them. “Only two hit points left, Marinette?”  
  
She grinned nervously. “He’s getting better.”

“Not good enough, obviously.” Adrien pouted. He wasn’t mad that she had won; just disappointed in himself that he had lost. Marinette shuffled herself, awkward, and Max patted his shoulder. 

“Beating Marinette isn’t easy. Once she conquers the basics, she excels in nearly any game.”   
  
“Max!” She whined, and the two went on to talk about her supposed skills. Adrien was distracted by Lila, who attached herself to his arm. 

“It’s too bad you couldn’t avenge me, Adrien, but I understand. She’s a tough opponent!”

He was about to say that he hadn’t offered to avenge her, but there was a knock on the door and Nino, Alix, and Kim were clamouring to answer it first. Cries of, “Pizza!” echoed through the apartment. Nora pushed them all away.

"Go sit down, you runts." She grumbled before opening the door. Nora paid for the food and brought the boxes inside for them to open and devour. 

“Pizza time!” Kim cried, distributing the boxes from Nora’s arms to the counter, and Nino whooped and Alix cheered as the rest of them gathered around.

Alya handed Adrien a paper plate, and he gave her an impish grin.

“What did one plate say to the other?”

Alya bit her lip. “What?” She asked, reluctant.

“Dinner is on me!”

Everyone groaned.


	9. Missed Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finishing off Nino's birthday party with pizza, movies, and late night conversations.

It had been a long time since Adrien had last _seen_ a pizza, much less had a chance to eat one. He made sure to slip Plagg some cheese as he grabbed two slices from the boxes set up on the counter, since everyone else was gathered around the dining table. He slid into a seat between Nino and Alix, content to be surrounded by his classmates and friends.

He was clearly not the most popular one. Alya was captivating the entire table with her latest adventure chasing down Ladybug and Chat Noir, and everyone was listening. Both her and Lila demanded attention and held it, enchanting their audience with their words, and the two girls were emphasizing the story and building off of each other. 

“The akuma was one of the _nastiest_ ones I’ve seen in weeks!”

“It was turning people into origami figures! Cranes and frogs and _butterflies!”_

“They were struggling to get an upper hand!”

They stood up, abandoning their plates. Alya posed like Ladybug as Lila posed as the akuma, L’oiseau Papier if he recalled correctly, and Alya swung her fist around in small circles, like she was twirling a yo-yo.

“And Ladybug summoned her Lucky Charm!” Alya threw her fist in the air to imitate the action.

“But the akuma _grabbed_ it from her!” Lila rushed by and grabbed the plastic spoon in Alya’s hand, and someone at the table gasped in surprise. Adrien tried not to wince; he was more than aware of what happened next.

“Chat Noir tried to intercept the akuma,” Alya changed her whole demeanour suddenly, her hands curling into claws. “But then, suddenly-!”

“The akuma flung him across the city!” Lila brandished the spoon like it was a wand, and Alya pretended to fall backwards. Nino, startled, stood up to catch her. 

Yet Alya was already back in the fray. “Ladybug jumped back into action! She snags the Lucky Charm back!” And she grabbed the spoon from Lila, who faked a gasp. “She calls for her partner-” Alya tugged Nino to her side. “And he says-!”

Nino looked at her in confusion. The whole table laughed. 

“C’mon babe!”

“Oh, uh, _Cataclysm!”_

“I’ll never _fold_ to you, Ladybug and Chat Noir!” Lila declared, and the table laughed harder at her joke. Adrien allowed himself a chuckle. “Hand over your Miraculous!” 

“Never!”

The three of them concluded the fight in a frenzy of movement and tickles and more laughter, which was definitely _not_ how he remembered the fight ending, but Adrien was amused all the same. Alya ultimately wrestled the spoon from Lila, and she threw it into the air, yelling out Ladybug’s catchphrase to excited applause. Adrien clapped along and glanced at Marinette. She looked just as amused as he did; Adrien figured she had heard the story from Alya a thousand times already.

“Us next, us next!”

Alix and Kim were commanding and fierce in their storytelling, as they detailed a complex athletic tournament with a rival school. They were just as vibrant as Alya and Lila had been, but Adrien was more focused on finally eating his pizza than absorbing the story. When he finished, he sat back and watched his friends - their conversations flying by him, yet he was perfectly content to watch and listen.

Adrien felt inadequate. Even Nino and Max, who were just as laid back, had plenty of witty remarks and clever lines to add to the conversation. And Marinette was by far the kindest voice at the table, unbiased and offering a new perspective. She seemed to always have solutions and advice, and when she was able, she offered to help. 

He tried to chime in when he could, but his kindness could not match Marinette’s, he could not hold the table’s attention like Lila, and he lacked Kim’s ferocity. Oddly enough, the novelty of the fun was starting to wear off. Being around his schoolmates, combined with losing the video game match, made him wish he could’ve spent tonight with Ladybug instead. 

He chastised himself for the thought. These were his _friends_. It was Nino’s birthday! He was obligated to be here and have fun with them! Just because he was spending more and more time with his Lady didn’t mean he had to abandon his other social engagements. Besides, if he got better at being social, he could make more friends.

From dinner, they moved onto presents.

“Which one are you going to open first?” Alya asked Nino as they piled around him. He looked over the assortment of wrapped presents before picking up Adrien’s.

“My best bro’s!” He grinned, shaking it lightly. Adrien smiled back. 

“I _present_ to you,” he said. “A _super_ awesome gift.” 

Nino’s flat look as he tore the wrapping paper off the box was worth it. 

“You gonna keep making jokes all night, dude?”  
  
“I’ll take any chance I can get.” 

Nino shook his head, but he was smiling again. He opened the box and his face lit up as he pulled out three sets of slipmats. The first set featured Jagged Stone, the second some indie musician that Adrien barely knew but Nino loved, and the third-

“Oh my gosh,” Alya breathed. “Is that _Ladybug?!”_

Sure enough, the third set of mats had Ladybug and Chat Noir posed back-to-back on the first one, and the other three Parisian superheroes on the second. Alya seemed more excited than her boyfriend about the gift, but Nino gave Adrien a quick hug to express his thanks. 

“These are _awesome,”_ he smiled. “Thanks, man.”

“No problem! I thought you’d like them.” 

The rest of Nino’s presents included an arrangement of small DJ accessories, music records, a new cap that glowed in the dark made by Marinette, and a lopsided (but very cute) turtle statue from Alya that she had made herself.

Adrien tried hard to hide his smirk at that one.

Afterwards, they had some of that delicious and beautiful cake while they sat down and chatted some more. Yet once the cake was gone, they had to say goodbye to the four members of their student group who wouldn’t be spending the night.

“Alya…” Lila hesitated by the door as she pulled on her shoes. Adrien and Alya watched as she nibbled her bottom lip. “I don’t really want to go home… My parents won’t be home tonight, because of that Embassy function, so I was wondering if I could...y’know…”

Alya flinched and Adrien’s gaze narrowed. 

“Sorry Lila,” Alya said, walking forward and laying a hand on her shoulder. “My parents don’t want more than four of us to stay overnight. If I could, I would…”

“I can go home,” Adrien spoke up, watching Lila closely. “If Lila really needs a place to stay.” Yet he had a feeling that she would not be taking him up on his proposal. 

Sure enough, her eyes went wide. “Oh, no need Adrien! That’s very sweet of you, but I know you don’t get to hang out with your friends very often. I really do appreciate the offer.” 

“And I’m not uninviting Nino or Marinette,” Alya said with a strained chuckle. “They’ve been friends since like, primary school.”

“I understand,” Lila replied, but Adrien had a feeling that she didn’t. He looked behind him and saw Nino and Marinette hanging out at the other end of the hallway. Marinette was frowning. “I wouldn’t want to intrude on such a long-lasting friendship!”

“Did you want to try calling Rose or Mylène and asking them if you can stay there? I’m sure either would love to have you!” Alya tried. Lila looked uneasy, but her face soon eased into a smile.

“I think I’ll try giving Rose a call! Mylène’s on her date tonight, yeah? I’d hate to crash that.”

“Awesome! Be safe, Lila!”

“Thanks, Alya! Happy birthday again, Nino!”

All four of them waved as she finally left, and Adrien felt all of the tension leave the room. Alya turned back to them and clapped her hands together.

“Pyjamas, living room! Stat!” Alya cried once the front door had closed behind Lila. She grabbed Marinette and hauled her away, the two of them giggling. Nino rolled his eyes before following the girls down the hallway. Adrien stepped in behind him.

“Alya, babe, you’re not gonna make us play…” Nino shuddered and Marinette flinched at the suddenly evil look on Alya’s face. They had all gathered in her room to dig out their pyjamas from their overnight bags, but Nino and Adrien would be using the bathroom to change.

“Pleeease?” She asked, batting her eyelashes. Nino blushed and looked away.

“I really don’t think Spin the Bottle is a great choice for the four of us,” he remarked. Adrien zipped his bag back together, holding onto his clothes.   
  
“What’s that?” He asked. Alya laughed.

“You spin an empty bottle, and whoever it points towards, you have to kiss them.”

Oh. Yeah, definitely not a great game for the four of them. Two in a relationship, two at odds with each other, and considering Adrien couldn’t even _remember_ his first kiss? Sounded like a recipe for disaster. 

“What about something less...physical,” he tried, wincing at his choice of words. Alya turned her sharp, brown eyes on him. “Like uh, truth or dare maybe? Or maybe that dancing game you guys were playing last time?”

“It’s a bit late for that,” Alya stated. “We don’t wanna wake up the downstairs folks.” 

“Fair enough.” 

“But maybe we can watch a movie, and if we’re still up for it, we can try truth or dare afterwards?” Nino suggested. Alya thought about it and nodded.

“Yeah, we can do that. Marinette?” 

“Th-That’s fine, “she stuttered, holding her pyjamas close to her chest.

All of them in agreement, the boys left the girls alone and closed the bedroom door behind them. Adrien changed in the bathroom after Nino, brushed his teeth and hair and washed his face, and walked back out to the living room after dropping off his day clothes in his backpack and checking in on Plagg.

His eyes shot straight to Marinette.

The last time he had seen her in her pyjamas (and _no_ , he hadn’t been peeking or anything!), they had been pink and white and black. Yet this set was totally different! 

Adrien was just as pink as her purse. He could _feel_ how hot his cheeks were, and he wasn’t sure if it was because he was embarrassed or flattered. 

Because Marinette’s ensemble was clearly based off of Chat Noir, from the green paw print in a black circle on a grey tee, to her black slacks and cat-shaped socks. She was chatting amicably with Alya while holding a hot mug of tea, and Alya nudged her and pointed in Adrien’s direction.

Suddenly, he wished he _had_ brought his Ladybug pyjamas, just so they could match.

“Those pyjamas are _paw-_ nomenal,” Adrien complimented, trying to get a hold of his blush. But she was blushing too, and that only made it all the harder. He recalled when she had confessed to Chat Noir, so maybe she had made the pyjamas when she had been crushing on him. He tried not to look as guilty as he felt - had he really turned down the same girl twice? “Did you make them?”   
  
“Yeah,” Marinette squeaked. “Well, the flirt- _shirt_ , and the socks.” 

“That’s awesome. I just bought mine.”

“Your’s?”  
  
Nino chimed in as he sat beside Alya. “He has a totally nerdy set of Ladybug PJs. I’m surprised he didn’t bring 'em!”   
  
Adrien's blush renewed as Alya howled in laughter, but his face split into a smirk. “I didn’t want to _bug_ anyone.”

Marinette giggled.

Together, the four of them went through Alya’s movie collection. Adrien had seen most of them, but he was surprised that Alya had the collector’s edition of the Ladybug and Chat Noir movie. He held it up and examined it, admiring the foil cover. Alya smirked. 

“Too bad, Buttercup. Nino and I saw it just last week; we are _not_ watching it again so soon!”   
  
“Just admiring it,” Adrien clarified. “I saw it last week too.” 

“The park showing?” Nino said, brow furrowed. 

“Yeah! You guys were there?”

Alya side-glanced at Marinette with a questioning look. Adrien didn’t miss the way Marinette shrugged as Nino nodded. 

“Alya got a bunch of tickets. Marinette, didn’t you go with Luka?”

Nor did he miss the way she flinched and waved her hands. “Uhm, no! I didn’t ask him. I went with uh, a different friend. Yeah! Someone you haven’t met!”

It looked like Alya wanted to ask her more questions, so Adrien intervened. “I went with a friend too. It was fun. Totally awesome when Ladybug showed up.”

That worked. Once Alya started gushing about how Ladybug _and_ Chat Noir had shown up to watch the movie (and yes, he had read through the Ladyblog article), it took all three of them to bring her focus back on selecting a DVD for tonight.

Eventually, they settled on a horror movie. With Nora lingering at the kitchen table, they arranged themselves on the couch with blankets and pillows, turned the lights low, and started the movie. 

Nino was the jumpiest, but about halfway through, during one of the slower parts, Adrien glanced sideways and saw that both Nino and Alya had drifted off, cuddled tightly together. Marinette glanced from them to him, her hands clenched tightly around a pillow. 

“They’ve had a long day,” she said. Adrien nodded. “Do you want to mop the smoothie?”

“...What?”

She hadn’t realised she had tripped over her words again. For a second, she looked distraught. 

“...Do you want to _stop_ the _movie_ _?”_ Marinette tried. Adrien chuckled. 

“Yeah. I’ve seen it before.”

She got off the couch, turned off the television and the player, and came back to drag a blanket over her friends. She smiled down at them, and Adrien glanced away so he wouldn’t be caught staring. 

“I’m gonna step outside for some air,” Marinette told him.

“May I join you?”

He was already halfway off the couch. Her mouth was slightly open and her eyes were wide, but she nodded hesitantly. Together, they quietly pried open the balcony door and stepped outside. 

The rush of cold air shocked them both, but it was bracing and muchly needed after the adrenaline and chaos of the last few hours. For a moment, they both relished in bringing fresh, cold air into their lungs. They both scanned the rooftops as they leaned against the balcony; Adrien wondered if she was looking for Chat Noir as much as he was looking for Ladybug. 

He struggled to find a topic of conversation, but eventually he threw a shot in the dark and tried. 

“That gift you made for Nino was spectacular, Marinette. I’m sure it’ll really _glow_ away the rest of the class.”

He really enjoyed making her giggle. Not many people laughed at his jokes, especially not cute girls, and-

Wait, when was Marinette now _cute?_

“Oh, it was nothing, honestly. He’ll probably only get to wear it for shows, he does have his favourites after all.”

Yet he definitely wouldn’t have been the first to think so. Both Nino and Nathaniel had had a crush on her at some point, so she certainly wasn’t _ugly_ by any stretch, but judging a girl by her appearance wasn’t-

“Adrien?” She asked, timidly. 

He snapped himself out of his thoughts.

“Y-Yeah?” He asked, hoping his sudden stutter could be put to the chill. It was starting to seep into his bones. 

“I wanted to thank you for earlier, with Lila. And that I’ve really appreciated the space you’ve given me. It’s helped a lot.”

She spoke so quietly, but her voice was clear in the soundless night. Adrien felt a warmth bloom in his chest that fought away the cold.

“I’m glad,” he stated. “I don’t want to lose you, Marinette. You’re important to me.”

Ladybug’s words flashed through his head, and he winced. He wasn’t supposed to be flirting with her, and while the words weren’t seduction-worthy, Adrien didn’t want to lead her on.

“You’re...important to me too,” she replied. “As a friend, I mean. I’m really fortunate you came to school, Adrien.”

The bloom suddenly burst into a bubbling, raging star of heat and adoration. The air didn’t feel so cold when he breathed in, and his face relaxed into a wide smile. It was incredible to hear that from _her,_ she who had hated him when he first came to public school, and she who was now such an important person in his life.

“Thank you,” he whispered, happy. She flushed before changing the subject.

“Any uh, progress with that girl?” She questioned. Adrien stared at her in surprise. When he didn’t reply, Marinette pressed onward. “With the one you like?”

“Oh, uh…” He scratched the back of his head. “I saw that movie with her. She...doesn’t feel the same as me, but I’m hopeful.”

Marinette’s eyes went wide. He dropped his hand and met her gaze. They were beautiful eyes, a lovely blue that reminded him of Ladybug.

“I’m sure she’ll come around,” she mumbled, a bit sad, but Adrien could tell she was doing her best to be supportive. He flinched.

“Marinette,” he said, strained. “I... I’ve thought about this a lot, and-”

“You don’t need to explain yourself.”  
  
“I know, but you deserve the truth. And I want to be honest with you.”

She looked so unsure that Adrien wanted to kick himself. Marinette deserved to be confident, and what he would tell her would be against all the advice Ladybug had given him. Yet there was a drive inside of him to be as open as possible.

“...Alright,” she said eventually, but she looked agitated, as if she didn’t want to hear what he had to say. Adrien took a deep breath, glanced upwards at the clouds, and tried to summon the _right_ words. It was important that he was prudent and gentle, but also genuine. 

“I feel like you’re...a missed connection. Like I _could've_ _,_ maybe, accepted your feelings.” Her eyes were already wide, reflecting the orange light coming from the kitchen. “But because I’m hung up on someone else, I… I don’t think that’s fair to any girl who asks me out. It wouldn’t be right to date someone when I don’t even know if I can get over my Luh…” He broke off, wavering. “Over my feelings for her. That’s not a healthy start for a relationship.”

Marinette just stood there, but she wasn’t crying, she wasn’t yelling, she wasn’t accepting. Instead, she looked thoughtful, carefully considering his words and weighing them in her head. After a long pause, in which the smell of distant rain reached them on a sharp breeze, she sighed. 

“Thank you for being honest, Adrien.” She said. “I’m not...sure what to say…”

“That’s fine.”

“But I’m not going to get my hopes up.”

“I wouldn’t want you to. I don’t want _anyone_ to wait on me.” He spoke with such determination that she gave him a quizzical look.

“Good. I’m not going to.” She crossed her arms over her chest and jerked her head away, her confusion fading into a pout. Adrien chuckled, and she smiled lightly.

“You’re gonna make a great boyfriend…” She commented sadly, uncrossing her arms. Adrien flinched, looking down at the street as a person on a bicycle went past.

“I hope so…”  
  
“You’re open and you communicate your feelings. That’s _huge._ A lot of people struggle with that.”

“When something is important, it’s important to say it. Even if it’s difficult.”

She hummed. Adrien looked back at her, still hanging his head.

“A friend of mine said something like that to me once,” Marinette said, her voice soft as she leaned against the balcony railing. “He finds it easy to say the most crucial things, even when the situation is dire. I don’t know how he does it…”

Adrien wondered if she was talking about Luka, or the boy she had seen the movie with. He frowned and stood up straighter.

“He seems like a good friend.”

She laughed, throwing her head back. It was near-startling in the quiet night, and Marinette quickly slapped a hand over her mouth when she realised how loud she had been. She apologised, but Adrien waved it away. She had an amazing laugh.

“He is,” she said. “He always has my back, even if he is a little silly.”

They fell into silence afterwards, and Adrien was unsure of what to say. They were forced to go inside when the scent of rain grew stronger and a drizzle started. After they slid the balcony door closed, Nora informed them she was going to bed, and they wished her a good night. Together, they broke out two sleeping bags (one was actually Nino’s, since Adrien hadn’t brought one), arranged themselves on the floor, and talked quietly about video games and fighting styles until they couldn’t keep their eyes open any longer.

“Good night, Adrien.” Marinette mumbled through a yawn.

“Good night, Marinette.”


	10. A Sky Full of Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien goes home. Marinette and Chat have a conversation. Papillon is planning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mon minou - my kitten (for boys)  
> Père - Father  
> Bonsoir - formal good evening  
> Oui - yes
> 
> Chapter runs from March 5th to the 10th. Enjoy!

They were all woken up in the morning by the loud, wailing cry of Adrien’s cell phone. It was raining outside, a light shower that offered a peaceful backdrop to their lazy Sunday morning, but the ringtone split through the peace like a battleaxe. Nino moaned something about shutting it up, Alya patted the couch around her looking for the noise, and Adrien fumbled with his phone as Marinette continued to sleep like the dead.

It was six. Nathalie was calling him at the crack of dawn, there was barely any light outside, and it would be more than an hour before the sun would even grace the sky. Groaning, he hastily cleared his throat before answering. 

“Good morning?” Adrien tried, hating that his voice sounded raspy. 

“Adrien,” Nathalie deadpanned. She always sounded so serious over the phone. “You’re not home.”

“...No,” he agreed. “I’m not.”

“Where _are_ you?” Despite her flat tone, Adrien had learned to recognise her frustration. He bit his lip. What should he say?

“...I’m safe.” He gave in, reluctantly. Nino and Alya had sat up now, watching him and listening intently to his conversation.

“Your father doesn’t know you’re gone. Yet.”

It sounded like a threat, but there was a promise in her voice too. Adrien’s frown deepened. He was quickly calculating several options in his head: Stay at Alya’s and possibly suffer his father’s wrath, or…

“I’ll send your bodyguard out to get you. You’ll be home before breakfast.”

Or sneak behind his back with his assistant’s help and escape detection. It was _tempting,_ but so was defying her and staying with his friends.

“Whaass goin’ on?” Marinette lifted her head, hair mussed and sticking up in every direction. Alya shushed her, pointed at Adrien, and mouthed, _“His dad.”_

Well, she wasn’t _wrong,_ per se…

“Adrien, you’re not seriously thinking about foregoing this?” Nathalie scolded him, and Adrien flinched.

“No, no Nathalie,” he gave in. “I just woke up, is all.”

“So you will come home?”

“Yeah.”

“Your address?”  
  
He gave it to her after verifying it with Alya. Nathalie told him to be downstairs in five minutes, and they hung up. Quickly, the four of them scrambled to get Adrien’s stuff together, bypassing allowing him to change into day clothes so they could sneak a croissant and pastry into his bag. Each of them gave him a hug, Marinette even kissed his cheek, and they all bashed his father as they went down the stairs.

“Actually, he doesn’t know,” Adrien clarified. “Nathalie… I think she’s offering me an out. He doesn’t have to know I snuck away.”  
  
Nino looked surprised. 

“Good to know that cold witch has a heart,” he stated with a raised brow. “Think you can exploit that more in the future?”

Adrien chuckled. “Doubt it. She and Father are...close.”

They waited underneath the awning as his bodyguard pulled the car up. They all shared one last group hug, and Adrien waved goodbye as he got into the car. Nathalie was in the front seat beside his bodyguard, tapping through her tablet.

“Why did you sneak out?” She asked, not looking up.

“Father wouldn’t have let me come,” Adrien defended himself. “It was Nino’s birthday.”

Nathalie hummed, flipping through a calendar on the screen.

“You’re lucky. Your bodyguard noticed you weren’t home when he went to close the window in your room due to the rain. I won’t tell your father today, on one condition: There is no repeat of this. If you do this again, I will be informing him of _all_ past incidents.”

Adrien bit his bottom lip, debating his options. He knew the right answer: Obey, listen, follow through. But the answer he was contemplating was different: Agree, ignore, sneak out again, don’t get caught. Out of the hundreds of times he had escaped his home, this was one of the few he had been apprehended. 

But if he had been caught once, he would be caught again. Chat Noir could only be so careful.

“Alright, Nathalie. I won’t do it again,” he lied. “I apologise for the trouble I put you through.”

“Thank you, Adrien.”

* * *

Sure enough, his father never found out about Adrien sneaking off to join Nino’s birthday party. Running on only a few hours of sleep, Adrien attended two photoshoots on Sunday, changed clothes more times than he could count, and did an interview with a magazine reporter. Tired, he mixed up his words a few times, nearly dozed off when they called a break, and he tripped over a cable on his way back from the bathroom. The second he got home, Adrien ignored Nathalie’s insistence on studying his Chinese and collapsed into bed for a nap.

He woke up famished and confused to a dark room and Plagg’s snores. 

The only food in his room was camembert, and he wasn’t about to eat that even if Plagg did offer to share. Stomach grumbling, he got out of bed to make his way to the kitchen, but Adrien glimpsed a tray on his desk. He sat down in his computer chair, turned on the desk lamp, and poked the food with a fork, but what was normally a delicious and lovely meal was now cold and bland. Plagg came and sat next to him, watching.

“You didn’t eat much today,” his kwami remarked. Adrien shrugged.

“Didn’t get much of a chance,” he grumbled. “But I had those pastries from Marinette earlier.”

Plagg eyed him. “From the blogger,” he corrected.

“Marinette’s family is the one who made them.”

Adrien wasn’t rectified a second time.

“I don’t think you should’ve said those things to Pigtails last night,” Plagg said warily, crossing his tiny arms. “Ladybug _specifically_ told you not to get her hopes up.”   
  
“I wasn’t getting her hopes up, Plagg.” Adrien defended. “I was telling her the _truth.”_

Green eyes rolled. Adrien rolled his back.

“You basically told her she still has a shot,” Plagg bit out. “‘I could’ve accepted your feelings.’” He was mocking last night’s words. _“Really?!”_

Adrien clenched his fists. It was important to him that Marinette knew that. That he hadn’t rejected her because he didn’t like her, but because it wouldn’t be fair to be with her when he was…

He gritted his teeth. Kagami had told him to switch targets. And he honestly had been trying; some days, it felt like he was succeeding. Yet recently, Ladybug and him had been hanging out more and more, and every night he saw her dragged him deeper and deeper back into that well he had been trying to claw his way out of.

If he was being honest with himself, he just wanted to hit the bottom and never come out.

He took a deep, shuddering breath that caused his lungs to rattle. Plagg was still watching him, but his accusing glare had faded into something softer.

“You’re...right, Plagg.” Adrien admitted, refusing to look as a smug expression crossed the kwami’s face. “But I don’t regret what I said.” He took a few angry bites of his cold dinner as Plagg zipped away to find more cheese. Together, they chewed and ate, talking quietly about the party. Adrien realised they had never finished the video game tournament - technically, Nino and Marinette should’ve been the finale. But the natural conclusion was that Marinette would either sweep the floor with Nino, or politely let him win since it was his birthday, and neither outcome would’ve made everyone happy. After everyone had witnessed how she had played against Lila, they had seemed a little cold towards her. 

Pushing his empty tray and plate away, Adrien got up and walked around his room. Despite it being a Sunday evening, he had no desire to finish his homework. He itched to go for a run, but since Ladybug wouldn’t be out and about, it was bound to be lonely. He bit the inside of his mouth, thinking, but Plagg soon came up beside him and nuzzled him.

For all of Plagg’s talk about staying home and sleeping, he still recognised when Adrien got antsy.

“Plagg,” Adrien said quietly. _“Claws out.”_

At first, he didn’t know where he was going.

Chat Noir started with the usual patrol route, but with it being Sunday and the sky already dark, barely anyone was out and no one spotted him leaping over rooftops and chimneys. The air felt fresh and crisp from the day’s earlier rain, and right now there was no cloud cover. He got bored with the patrol about halfway, however, and the anxiety of unfinished homework pressed against his thoughts. He really should go work on it…

As he headed back home, he passed right by the park closest to his school, and there, across the street, sitting under a twinkling arrangement of lights and colours on her rooftop balcony, was Marinette. Chat Noir paused, the guilt of a different kind eating away at him. He remembered Plagg’s scolding. Maybe a visit from a superhero would help her? 

She didn’t look sad. Not until he was closer, anyway. He tried to not sneak up on her, and her eyes flickered up to meet his when he was still rather far away. He cautiously approached her, making the last jump onto her railing with all four paws, like an oversized cat.

“Marinette,” he said, tentatively. “Right?”

A soft smile crossed her face. “Chat Noir,” she greeted. “Is there an akuma?”

“No, no.” He smiled back. “Just patrol. Gotta keep an eye out for Papillon!” He slinked off her railing to sit on the floor beside her chair, watching her. 

“You...alright?”

Marinette shrugged. She went back to her book, her pencil moving absently, but her attention was now divided. “Just a bit down.”

“Want to talk about it?”

She rolled her eyes. “Not really. Talking about it just reminds me that I’m...inadequate.”  
  
His eyes blew wide in surprise. He stared at her, pupils small, and she caught his look and winced. 

“Sorry, I-”

“You’re not!!” He burst out. Marinette hesitated.

“You’re awesome!” Chat continued. He sat up a little straighter, but that didn’t feel like enough. He started gesturing with his hands. “You’re remarkable! You’re astonishing!”

Now she just looked amused. “You’re saying that to make me feel better, _mon minou,_ and I appreciate that, but you barely know me.”

“You’re a sky full of stars!” He went on, leaping to his feet and sweeping his hand across the sky. She giggled, and Chat felt his heart thump at the sound. “You’re a heavenly view! You’re a lovely princess!”

Now she was laughing, and Chat Noir grinned as he chuckled with her. He kept going, showering her with compliments and praise, dancing around her small space with exaggerated motions. He flung his hands to the stars, barely visible with the Parisian lights, and pulled his lips into the widest smile that he could. He could see tears in the corners of her eyes as she laughed.

“You’re incredible, wonderful, _amazing!”_

“As _amazing_ as Ladybug?” She teased him.

He stumbled over his motions and looked straight at her. All of his goofy antics faded away and he whispered, his voice as serious as he could make it, “Just as amazing. Just as incredible.” 

Marinette stared at him, plainly stunned, and Chat would’ve continued to shower her in praise if he hadn’t noticed that a tear had traced itself down her cheek. Frantic, he looked around her balcony for something to hand to her.

“H-How…” She was struggling to catch her breath, and Chat gave her a tissue from the box near the trap door. Marinette wiped her eyes and thanked him. “How do you know all that? How could you _possibly_ know all that?”   
  
“I pawsitively do,” Chat affirmed. “Do you want to know a secret? But you can’t tell _anyone.”_

She looked alarmed, but Chat quickly backtracked. “I’m not going to tell you who I am!” He clarified, relieved when she relaxed. Yet now she was watching him warily.

He cleared his throat, bumping his hand against his chin. He dragged out the silence for dramatic effect, but every second that ticked by made Marinette look more and more anxious. 

"I've met you," Chat said. "As a civilian. And you always manage to go above and beyond. It's inspiring, truly miraculous.”  
  
“We’ve...met?” Marinette asked, and he nodded. She pondered the new information, looking down at her hands, and Chat Noir sat beside her again as she frowned.

“You’re always kind,” he said. He felt confident, but he could tell she wasn’t. “You’re always going out of your way to help others. I...don’t know you very well,” Chat admitted sheepishly. “But I’ve seen the things you do for your friends. I could only dream of being half as amazing as you.”

Marinette snorted in disbelief. “But you’re a _superhero._ You’ve got special powers.”

“Special powers don’t make a hero,” Chat countered. “Otherwise we’d say the same about Papillon. It’s your choices that really matter.”

They fell into silence; Marinette was unsure of what to say, and Chat Noir was out of praise to give. For a while, they watched the moon move across the sky, a perfect half-circle, and eventually, Chat stood up and recognised that he should go home and do his homework (or sleep).

“Heading home?” She asked him. He nodded. 

“Sorry Princess, this stray has work to do. Mice to catch, kittens to feed.”

Getting one last giggle out of her was worth the joke. She stood up and, after a second of hesitation, offered him a hug. He gladly walked into her embrace, trying not to purr, and patted her on top of her head before pulling away.

“Thanks for cheering me up, Chat Noir. It means a lot.” Her hands fell from his shoulders to his arms, and as she pulled further away, he grabbed one of her hands and bowed to softly kiss the back of it. 

“Anytime.” He winked at her, let go of her hand, and jumped back to the railing. He unhooked his stick from his back, extended it, and said a final, “Good night, Marinette.”

“Good night, _mon minou.”_

Going home wasn’t easy. Emotionally exhausted, Chat Noir dropped into his room and Adrien picked up his school bag on the way to his computer desk. Plagg darted for his stash of cheese, but he joined Adrien in flipping through his textbooks as he tried to quickly crank out the assignments due Monday morning. Normally, he was pretty good about not procrastinating on his homework, but since Nino’s birthday party had eaten into a huge chunk of his free time, and he had chosen to nap that afternoon rather than work, Adrien found himself throwing together last-minute maths solutions and vocabulary sheets.

Technically, he also had to read chapters four through six in their assigned reading, but he could always skim through that at breakfast or lunch. It wasn’t like his father was going to join him for the meals anyway. 

None of it ended up mattering. A Monday morning akuma attack made him late for school, despite Chat Noir’s and Ladybug’s best attempts to thwart it, and as Adrien dragged his feet up the steps, he was surprised to see Marinette running from the opposite direction, frantic. He rushed up the stairs and pushed his back against the door, holding it open for her as she rushed by him.

“Thank you, Adrien, I-!” She stopped in her tracks, and Adrien had to catch her before she took a nosedive into the concrete. 

She started spouting apologies, her flushed face and her hands fluttering, but Adrien waved them away. 

“Did you get caught up in that akuma attack too?” He asked.  
  
“What, akuma?! Me?! No, no, I just uh, overslapped! _Slept!”_

“Oh…” He looked away. “I did. I was kind of hoping if we _both_ had the same excuse…” Adrien trailed off, unsure how to phrase what he wanted, but Marinette was quick to catch onto his meaning. 

“Y’know,” she smirked, “I think I can swing the akuma excuse too.”

Mlle Bustier wasn’t happy with their tardy arrival, but she didn’t send them to the principal’s office after hearing their hurried explanation. Alya was watching them both with the intensity of a fox watching prey, but Adrien gave her a meek smile that dropped her glare and pursed her lips.

School was getting better. He turned in his now-late homework during lunch, apologised to his teachers for his absence that morning, and he was relieved when they all forgave him (one of them muttering that since he was normally such a diligent student, they’d let it slide). He did his reading at home at the dining table, and returned for the second half of the school day with a clear head. And after classes let out, he pulled on his fencing gear and won a majority of his sparring matches, even against Kagami, and his heart and feet were light.

Because for some reason, whenever he started his day seeing his Lady, he knew he could take on anything, and it made him confident. 

However, taking on his father was a different story.

When he came home from fencing on Friday, the sun was already setting. It lit up the white and black foyer with flares of colour as Adrien pushed open the front door and stepped inside. He was surprised to see his father standing at the top of the stairs, arms crossed behind his back. 

He’d been _waiting._

 _“Père,”_ Adrien breathed, all of his confidence fading from his body with the one word. If anyone could make him feel small, it was Gabriel Agreste. “Uhm, _bonsoir.”_

“Good evening, Adrien. How was fencing?”

Did he even care? Adrien’s grip tightened on his bag, but he summoned up as polite of a response as he could.

“It went well. We’re preparing for the tournament next month.”

Sure enough, Gabriel only nodded and didn’t inquire further. Adrien hesitated, wondering if his father wanted to say anything else, but when he tried to take a step forward to head to his room - if only to put down his fencing equipment - Nathalie came out of the office on her tablet. 

“Everything’s been confirmed, sir.”

“Excellent.” Gabriel turned back to his son. “We have just arranged for you to visit family-”  
  
“Family?” 

“-over your summer vacation-”

 _“What?”_   
  
“-for three weeks in August.”

 _“Weeks?!”_ Adrien squeaked, dropping his fencing bag. He could feel the horror on his face; it would be nigh impossible for Ladybug to defend Paris on her own for such an extended period of time. Sure, there was the horse miraculous for teleportation, but how was he supposed to learn about every akuma attack (not all of them made the news) and subsequently give distant relatives the slip?

“Your aunt has politely offered her hospitality, and we have already booked travel accommodations,” Gabriel continued, his eyes narrowing as Adrien visibly floundered. Desperately, he tried to reel in his emotions and think through this logically and clearly.

“Father, I can’t go to London, what about the summer line?” It felt like he was grasping at straws already. Adrien had rarely cared about his photoshoots, and the leery look on his father’s face showed that he was getting suspicious. His son rarely questioned him.

“Photoshoots in London have already been arranged and the line assembled. You need not fret about that. Do you have any other objections?”  
  
 _Yes!_ Adrien screamed inside his head.

“Fencing nationals will be over the summer,” Adrien quickly tried. “What if I place? I can’t represent the club if I’m in London.”

“You can come back for the day if and when that happens,” Gabriel stated, as if it were the simplest solution. “I hear your cousin is an excellent fencer himself; you’ll be able to get in some practice against a worthier opponent.”

It was like trying to hold water in his hands, but he pressed onward. He had to.

“The Graham de Vanily household doesn’t have a grand piano for practising-”

“I’m sure their baby grand will suffice,” Gabriel interrupted. “Anything _else,_ Adrien?”

“My friends-”

 _“Enough.”_ His father bit out, closing his eyes and pinching his nose. Adrien shut his mouth and shrank back, looking at his feet. Nathalie was watching him closely, her face carefully schooled into blankness, but her tight grip on her tablet was telling. His bodyguard had quietly come inside at some point during their talk, but now he laid a gentle hand on Adrien’s shoulder.

“You _will_ go to London, Adrien. Regardless of if you wish to do so or not. Do not make me turn this into a difficult decision for you. I can - and I _will_ \- hold back on submitting your lycée application until you depart.” Gabriel lowered his hand and glared at his own son from his position at the top of the stairs. “Is that clear?”

_“...Oui, père.”_

* * *

“You were a bit harsh with him, sir.”

After Adrien had rushed to his room with his jaw clenched and his fists curled, Gabriel had descended the stairs to stand beside his assistant. He did not flinch as his son harshly closed his bedroom door - borderline slammed it, but he had raised him better than that. His bodyguard lumbered up slowly after him, his face unreadable. 

“Perhaps,” Gabriel agreed, taking his eyes off the door to give Nathalie his full attention. “But it is of paramount importance that he goes.”

He walked back into his office and she followed him. Carefully, she pulled the door shut behind them and set her tablet down on her desk.

“Shall we start making arrangements, sir?”

“Of course. We will only have three weeks while my son is away. As miserable as he will be, I’m sure seeing his mother again will make it all worthwhile.”


	11. Slow and Steady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette tries to not look for Chat Noir, Lila lies, there's more video game discussion, and Chat Noir and Ladybug make a strange discovery during their next movie night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter runs from the 6th of March (Monday after Nino's Party) to Saturday the 11th.  
> Same week Adrien experiences, essentially, but from Marinette's point of view.
> 
> Please enjoy!

Marinette tried hard to not look for Chat Noir.

She didn’t _want_ to find Chat Noir. After he had spilt his secret last night, she had come to the conclusion that he must attend Françoise Dupont: How else would he have known about her and her friends? Yet all the other things she knew about him didn’t line up, and so, she was left flailing with no solid answers. Besides, maybe he had seen her somewhere else in Paris, like at Champ de Mars or the Louvre, popular hangouts for her and her friends. But how plausible was it for him to speak about her like that if he had only seen her a handful of times?

Her brain said it wasn’t plausible at all. Logic reasoned that he was someone close by. Her heart ignored all of it. 

Her eyes, on the other hand, scanned the cafeteria at lunch and focused on every blond-haired boy who walked in. She figured it couldn’t be anyone in her own class - the only blond boy was Adrien, and Marinette had seen him stand side-by-side with Chat Noir before - so it had to be a different student.

But she quickly realised what she was doing when a boy in the year below her caught her staring. His expression turned puzzled, and Marinette looked down at her plate and tried to stab her vegetables. He definitely wasn’t Chat, for he walked all wrong and was way too short.

She wondered if this was what Chat did. If he watched dark-haired girls walk past him at school, entertaining the idea that they were Ladybug, analysing the way they walked to compare their gait to his Lady’s. Thank goodness she was clumsier as Marinette; no one would quickly assume that their fumbling classmate was the graceful, powerful superheroine of Paris.

Chat Noir’s words echoed through her head. As amazing as Ladybug, huh? It brought a small smile to her face, partly due to the irony, partly because he had spoken so honestly. Her eyes scanned the cafeteria again.

“Who’re you looking for?” Alya asked beside her. Marinette stuck her fork in her mouth and chewed, if only to give herself extra time to think of a response. 

She couldn’t find one.

“I don’t know,” she mumbled, swallowing. “A friend, I think.”

Alya raised an eyebrow. “That _mysterious_ friend you brought to the movie?” She inquired, her face splitting into a wide smirk. Marinette opened her mouth to deny the claim, but her sudden flush betrayed her. Alya gasped.

“Was it a boy?! A girl?! C’mon Marinette, you’ve been dodging my questions about that night and I want- no, _need_ answers! Nino and I didn’t even see you there!”

She decided to throw Alya a bone. “He invited me to ‘My Life as a Courgette’ next weekend. I...wanted to make sure we were still on.”

_“He?!”_

Marinette gave her a shy smile, but Alya was already jumping to conclusions. It was already confirmed that the boy wasn’t Luka, and after a bit of pestering, Marinette confirmed that he wasn’t in their class (not that many boys in their class were single). Yet she found that she couldn’t say much else about him - after all, what else did she really know about Chat Noir?

“I need a _name,_ Marinette!” 

And she didn’t even have that, did she? 

“Alya,” Marinette said softly, laying a gentle hand on her friend’s arm. “I… I want this to move naturally, slow and steady. I don’t even know if I’m ready to move on yet. I don’t want to hide things from you, but…” She bit her lip, trying to think of a better way to word her emotions, but Alya beat her to the punch.

“Say no more.” She held up her hands in surrender. “Sometimes we go overboard, and after Buttercup, I totally respect that you’d wanna step away from that.”

“Really?” Marinette asked, surprised. 

“Of course!” Alya said, patting her best friend on the back. “Whoever it is, I’ll support you. I’m sure the others will too. Just…” Alya smirked. 

Marinette gulped.

“If you two become official, I’ll be the first to know, right?” Alya winked at her from behind her glasses, and Marinette forced a laugh out of her mouth. It sounded fake to her own ears, but Alya’s knowing expression didn’t change.

“Of course,” Marinette said, her mouth dry. “Definitely.”

As if she'd let anyone else get the first scoop about Ladybug and Chat Noir becoming official.

Alya let the topic drop for the day, but all throughout the week, she gave Marinette knowing looks and words of encouragement. She tried to pry a little more information out of her friend, but Marinette wouldn’t budge. It helped that she didn’t know much about Chat to begin with, so there wasn’t much to reveal, and when Alya asked for his age, Marinette quickly improvised and said he was their age. It would do her no good if Alya thought she was trying to woo someone significantly older.

But was she? Trying to woo him?

During an akuma battle on the Wednesday before their next movie night, she watched him more than she watched their attacker. As much as it pained her to admit, Chat Noir _was_ attractive. He had the looks to back up his flirtatious manners, and he probably broke hearts with that cocky grin plastered across his face. He was lithe, tall, and she figured he could give Adrien Agreste a run for his money in the looks department. Heck, he’d probably make a great model too.

The stray thought of him modelling her clothes for her flashed through her head, and Ladybug failed to dodge a hit that sent her flying over a building. Chat Noir called out her name in fear, but she picked herself up off the ground with a groan.

“Pay attention,” she scolded herself in a low voice. “And not to Chat’s abs.”

Thankfully he wasn’t around to hear _that,_ and she flung out her yo-yo to haul herself back over to the fight.

After Paris was repaired and the akumatised victim was comforted, Chat Noir held up his fist for her to bump. Panting and tired, her earrings beeping insistently, Ladybug stared at it for a moment. She lifted her own, and they both gave a half-hearted, “Pound it,” as they collided. Ladybug examined his face, lost in thought, and wondered if it was a face she had seen before.

No, no, no! Those were _bad_ thoughts!

“See anything you like, Buginette?” He asked playfully. She flushed, but Ladybug played it off with a smirk.

“Just admiring the view,” she said simply, and left it at that. She didn’t miss the shock that flashed across his face, and she threw out her yo-yo to drag herself up to the nearest building. After Chat Noir landed beside her, she continued the conversation as if nothing had happened. 

“Are we still on for Saturday?”

“Yep. I already bought the tickets!” He looked proud of himself as he crossed his arms and flashed his teeth. “Are you bringing snacks again?”  
  
“I dunno…” Ladybug tapped her chin in thought. “A friend of mine said you shouldn’t overfeed stray cats, or they’ll keep coming back.”

“Ahh, true, but I don’t think you’ll get rid of this cat so easily. How about I bring you a treat from that bakery I told you about that?” His ring pinged at them, but it didn’t interrupt the flow of their conversation. “I think you’d love their macarons. They always have the purrfect flavours!”

“Make sure they’re nondescript,” Ladybug chided him. “I don’t want you to reveal your identity over a _macaron.”_

“Milady, this patisserie is so busy, I doubt it would matter.” He cowed when her gaze hardened into a glare, her earrings beeping. “But as you wish. Plain macarons, got it.”

Satisfied with that answer, she wished him a wonderful rest of his day and went home. School had still been in session when the akuma had struck, but by now, Ladybug was sure the final bell had rung and class was out. She’d use the excuse that she had hidden during the attack, but she would have to return to pick up her bag and books. Hopefully, Alya had grabbed an extra assignment sheet for her.

Marinette cautiously peeked around the edge of the building she had de-transformed behind. She saw no one looking her way, and so she quickly made her way back towards the school, hoping her good luck would hold out. It didn’t.

As she made her way up the front steps, Adrien hurried down them, looking panicked. Marinette returned the half-hearted wave and smile he threw her way, hoping he wouldn’t ask any questions, but he was clearly in a rush. She watched him break into a run as he hit the pavement, skid to a stop beside the car that always dropped him off and picked him up, and nearly yank the door off said car. The glimpse she caught of his bodyguard revealed that he wasn’t happy with Adrien’s tardiness.

A few weeks ago, she would’ve been over the moon that Adrien had smiled at her. Now it just felt awkward. Sighing, Marinette made her way over to the locker room. Alya was already there, tapping away on her phone, and Marinette could see footage from the latest akuma fight already being distributed online. She winced when she watched herself get batted over the building like a tin can.

Not for the first time was Marinette grateful for the indestructible suits that Tikki and Plagg granted them.

“That looked like it hurt,” Marinette commented. Alya nodded with a frown.

“Ladybug seemed distracted this fight, don’t you agree?” Her friend remarked, rewinding the video to show an earlier section of the fight, where Ladybug seemed to be barely dodging hits and tripping over her own feet. Marinette felt her nose wrinkle; she did _not_ need a play-by-play of her mistakes, especially when she knew the cause of them.

“Maybe she’s got a lot going on,” she tried. “You said it yourself, she’s a collège student. Maybe there was a big test today.”

“Yeah, but she’s never _this_ bad. And exams are still months away.” Alya countered. She dragged her finger across the screen to move forward in the video, her frown deepening. “Hopefully she’s okay. If she keeps being distracted, an akuma will get the best of them.”

Marinette shifted uncomfortably. “Ladybug and Chat Noir always win.”

“For now,” Alya remarked. “But sometimes an akuma gets _really_ close, right? I think Papillon is holding out. He’s waiting for them to get sloppy, or distracted, or _something._ All those akumas we’ve had recently early in the morning and late at night… Papillon is probably trying to tire them out.”

Honestly, she had never thought of it like that. This had been their first afternoon-akuma in awhile. The usual Monday morning attack this week, one late at night on Friday, and a third at dawn on Thursday, all proved Alya’s theory. Marinette frowned as she watched the video play until the end, where the Ladybug on the screen threw her Lucky Charm into the air to repair the city. Was Papillon purposefully trying to make sure that she and Chat Noir didn’t get enough sleep? She didn’t feel particularly tired all the time, but she was napping more frequently to make up for the lost hours.

Marinette decided she’d bring it up with Chat Noir when she got a chance.

“Do you think,” and here, she paused, unsure if she wanted to hear Alya’s answer. Alya looked at her, curious, but she didn’t push Marinette to finish her question. She took a deep breath and tried again. 

“Do you think they’ll lose?”

Alya laughed, and Marinette jumped in surprise. 

“Nuh-uh, girl! Have some faith! Yeah, they might get sloppy sometimes, but Ladybug and Chat Noir will _definitely_ win! Papillon’s got _nothing_ on ‘em!” 

She wished that were true. 

Thankfully, Alya had already grabbed Marinette’s backpack from the classroom, and she relayed the information Mlle Bustier had told them about the assignment due on Friday. After grabbing a textbook from her locker, Marinette went back home to work on it. 

The next day on Thursday, however, Alya and Marinette’s friendship hit a snag. She was coming back to school after lunch, and Alya and Lila were chatting in excited voices at the base of the stairs to the second floor. Marinette frowned as she approached.

“-so awesome you did that for them, Lila!” Alya smiled. “It’s _amazing_ that they got to see the movie!”

“Who saw what movie?” Marinette asked curiously, stopping beside them. She gave Lila a wary glance as Alya frowned.

Lila laughed. “I got my _best friend_ tickets to the Ladybug and Chat Noir movie. She couldn’t buy them herself, after all, to protect her identity…” Lila put her hands over her heart and pulled such a convincing remorseful expression that Marinette tilted her head. “But I was willing to make such a sacrifice for her. That’s what besties are for!”

Alya had stars in her eyes again. “Ladybug surely appreciates it.”

“I hope so!”  
  
Marinette gritted her teeth. _Alya_ had bought Ladybug those tickets.

“You should be more careful, Lila.” Marinette forced out instead, hoping that the worry in her voice was as convincing as Lila’s pity. “What if Papillon found out? He’d use that against her.”

“I’m sure Ladybug and Chat Noir have that covered, Marinette.” Alya answered for her, and Lila smiled (borderline _smirked_ ) at Marinette. Fuming, she opened her mouth to make a retort, but someone behind them spoke up instead. 

“Ladybug has what covered?”

“Adrien!” Lila exclaimed, shoving past Marinette to stand beside him and wrap an arm around his. He slowly pulled his arm away in confusion. “We were just talking about how I got my best friend tickets for her date night!” 

_“Date night?”_ All three of them questioned.

Alya shoved _both_ Marinette and Adrien aside to pester Lila with questions. “Was that Ladybug and Chat Noir’s first date? How long have they been a couple? How did they start dating?!”

Marinette took a step back, reeling from the information. Adrien looked as confused as she felt, but he recovered faster. Yet with Lila occupied with Alya’s frantic questions, both of them chatting amicably as Alya typed away on her phone, he couldn’t easily interrupt them. He glanced back at Marinette, and they exchanged a look that said everything: They knew Lila was lying, but they had no way of proving it. 

Well. Marinette _did,_ but she couldn’t. 

How was she supposed to _deny_ this? She had no way of discrediting the tidbit as Marinette, and she had no idea how Adrien could either - and he looked just as confused and lost as she felt. She also couldn’t just leave to transform and stop Lila’s tale - she had promised Tikki she wouldn’t act out like that again, not after Adrien.

“But you guys can’t tell _anyone,”_ Lila begged suddenly. Alya hesitated, but she nodded firmly. “If Papillon found out about their love… He’d surely try to manipulate it in his favour!”

“I don’t think there’s anything to tell, Lila…” Adrien tried. “Ladybug isn’t dating Chat Noir. You must be mistaken.”  
  
“They’re just doing their best to hide it, Adrien.” Alya gave him a suspicious look, and Adrien narrowed his eyes at her in turn. Marinette spoke up.

“Adrien’s bright- _right._ Ladybug has said on public television that they’re not a couple. Why change things now?”

“Obviously she doesn’t want anyone to know, Marinette.” Lila countered. 

“Then why tell us?” Adrien asked in a low voice.

“I trust my friends to keep a secret. Right?” Lila said sweetly to Alya, who nodded eagerly. 

“You can count on us!” 

“Thank you so much, Alya! It’s just so hard keeping this burden to myself-” Marinette scowled as Lila pulled another compelling look of grief. “-and I’d hate to bottle up my emotions. I don’t want to be akumatised again!”

Marinette was opening her mouth to say something else, raising her finger to point out the obvious flaw in Lila’s thinking, when Adrien stepped in front of her and laid a hand on Lila’s back to guide her towards the stairs.

“Why don’t we go talk somewhere else then?” He asked her, keeping his voice quiet. “You can tell me all about this...date, and we’ll go over last week’s test.”

“I really would love that, Adrien.” Lila preened under his attention, grinning devilishly back at Alya and Marinette as she waved goodbye - but Marinette barely caught the smile, as she was too distracted by Adrien glancing back at her and _winking._

The urge to melt into the floor into a blushing mess was strong, but it was resistible. She trusted Adrien. She _had_ to trust Adrien.

“What’s wrong with you, Marinette?” Alya rounded on her once Adrien and Lila were out of earshot. “She’s Ladybug’s best friend. Lila’s been worried about Papillon _because_ of their friendship for a long time now. It’s not cool to throw it in her face like that.”

Marinette struggled to find a plausible excuse. “She’s lying, y’know.” She said instead. “They’re _not_ dating.”

“And what proof do you have?” Alya asked. Her voice was free of accusation, but the question still made Marinette squirm.

“Isn’t Ladybug’s public word good enough proof?”

“Lila says they’re keeping it under wraps, which I _totally_ get.”

“Then why does Chat Noir still flirt with Ladybug during akuma attacks?” Marinette shot back. Alya rolled her eyes. “Wouldn’t he stop? Create distance?” 

“Obviously so nothing seems out of the ordinary to Papillon. C’mon girl, you’re grasping at straws! Can’t you just be happy for them?” Alya glared at her as she pocketed her phone and started up the stairs for their classroom. Marinette floundered at the bottom, opening and closing her mouth as she tried to reason out a response that was believable. 

She couldn’t find one.

“You need to let go of your jealousy around Lila, Marinette.” Alya said softly once she had caught up to her at the top of the stairs. “It’s really hard for me to play mediator between you two. I don’t…” Alya looked at the ground, and Marinette felt a pang in her chest. Alya rarely let herself look so meek. 

“I don’t want to have to choose sides. You’re both amazing people, amazing friends, and I value that. I know the situation with Adrien has been hard-”

Marinette flinched. 

“-but please don’t let that get in the way of you two reaching some sort of reconciliation.”

Having finished properly chastising her friend, Alya turned around and went back into the classroom as the bell rang. Marinette reluctantly followed.

On Friday, Marinette was able to hold a conversation with Adrien without stuttering, without mixing up her words, and without blushing. Him and Max had been discussing the new fight mechanics of the next Ultimate Mecha Strike patch, and Marinette had pitched in the second she overheard them.

“I don’t know how to feel about them adding a global cooldown to combos,” Adrien admitted. “That was one of the few ways you could get a _huge_ edge on your opponent.”

“But it makes sense,” Marinette jabbed her finger at him. “It gives your opponent time to retaliate, and you’re forced to not spam the buttons. A lot of good players get good because we’re just button-spamming!” 

“Marinette has a button-mashing speed of approximately seven presses a second,” Max added, pushing up his glasses as he puffed out his chest. “It’s really quite impressive, but the new mechanics-”

“I won’t be able to utilize that,” Marinette finished for him. “Fights will come down to who’s more clever, not who’s _faster.”_   
  
“You’ve always been clever too,” Adrien said. “Even when you tried to hold back, you’d still beat me.”

“But Max is more clever than me.” Marinette grinned at Max, who smirked.

“You’re just _salty_ you lost last time because I pulled off the D3-L2 trick.”

“I didn’t think you’d actually _do it!”_ She whined. “I’ve never been able to do that! I like combos, they’re _easier!_ This patch will _ruin_ my winning streak!”

And even though Adrien was smiling at her, and he really did look quite handsome with the afternoon sun highlighting his hair and his laughter reaching his eyes, Marinette didn’t turn into a pile of mush.

However, on Saturday night, when Chat Noir greeted her with a bow and a wink, Ladybug had to fight _hard_ to ignore the sudden pounding of her heart. 

She had once again brought blankets for their rooftop perch, and she had everything perfectly laid out by the time Chat had arrived. He set down a basket similar to the one she had brought last time, but there was a red and white checkered cloth poking out of the top. He sat down beside her, opened it, and started digging through it.

“Did you turn in the tickets?” Ladybug asked him as he pulled out a paper bag and a small white box.

“Yep,” Chat said. “I nearly bought them online, but I found a store that sells physical tickets and I paid in cash. So even if they weren’t shredding the tickets down there, it’d be difficult to trace them back to me.” When he looked up from his basket of treats, he caught the surprised look on Ladybug’s face.

He smirked. 

“What?” He asked with a raised brow. “Didn’t think I’d go through the trouble, Buginette?”

She tried to rearrange her face into something less surprised, failed, and settled for a soft smile. “Maybe,” she said. “That’s good to know for next time. I got mine from a friend.”

“Yikes. That does sound riskier.”

“It was. I was scared they’d trace the tickets back to _her,_ and then I’d really be in trouble!”

They shared a laugh, and then he opened the paper bag. “Croissant?” He offered, holding it out. 

Uncertain, Ladybug reached into the bag and pulled out one buttery pastry. She examined the shape of it with a critical eye, admiring the symmetry of the dough but disappointed in the blunt tips. She broke it in half to take a peek at the layers, and she sniffed and inhaled the buttery scent that came off the bread. Chat watched her with clear amusement, but he said nothing until she finally tore off a small piece and put it in her mouth.

“Well?”

He was eager for an answer, but Ladybug rolled the bit of pastry around her mouth. Something was wrong. This was not just any croissant. 

This was, most certainly, without a shadow of a doubt, a croissant that her father, Tom Dupain, had made in the morning hours before the sun had come up. Ladybug would have recognized the taste anywhere, and she took another piece off and ate that one too, just to make sure.

“It’s...good.” She mumbled, unsure of what to say to him. Of course Chat Noir wouldn’t notice that the croissants she brought last time were the same as these; he hadn’t grown up in a bakery, surrounded by the smell of yeast and flour, familiar with the family recipe. And maybe these weren’t her dad’s croissants but a close imitation by a nearby bakery. 

“Where’d you get them?” Ladybug asked casually as he opened the box of macarons. Sure enough, he had made sure to order them without the bakery’s signature label - the label that Ladybug herself had designed some years ago. 

_If_ they were from her parents’ patisserie, that is. 

“Place close to my school,” Chat shrugged. “If you really want to know where it is, Milady, we can go on a date sometime.” He winked at her, and Ladybug rolled her eyes.

“As if.”

He chuckled, and the movie screen in the park flickered to life. They could hear the cheers of several excited children as he offered her a yellow macaron. She took it gingerly.

“My favourite!” He chimed in. “Bet you can’t guess the flavour!”

“Passion fruit,” Ladybug said with confidence before taking a bite. He stared at her with a slack jaw. She giggled, reached over, and pushed it shut. 

“Cat’s don’t catch flies, _mon chaton.”_

After she had slowly chewed and swallowed her first bite, he quietly asked, “How did you know?”

She took another bite, chewed, and swallowed again before answering.

“I…” 

And yet she found no answer. Excuses lingered at the edge of her tongue, so easy to roll out, but Ladybug didn’t want to lie to him. Passion fruit was not her favourite kind of macaron: If she stated as such, he would bring her treats by the dozen, like a real cat dragging in its daily catch. Saying that she had grown up in a bakery would be too incriminating: He’d be visiting every boulangerie in Paris within the next week. A half-truth would probably work best, but only one sounded like she wasn’t dodging the question. 

“I… I know this bakery,” she finally admitted as the opening credits started to roll. His eyes went wide. “It’s...the same one I brought croissants from last time. I recognise it.”

Thankfully, he didn’t mention the name of her parents’ livelihood. Hearing her own last name from his lips would’ve been too terrifying, too real, too close to the truth and her identity. Several puzzle pieces seemed to be clicking into place for the both of them: if this was indeed the same bakery, then Chat Noir went to Françoise Dupont, the collège closest to it. If Ladybug knew of the bakery, then she had visited it at some point, and if she knew it well enough to recognize its taste and a rare flavour of macaron, she visited it quite often.

“We were…” Chat mumbled, his voice raspy. “...that close, huh?”

“Maybe,” Ladybug whispered. “But maybe I’m wrong.”

“You’re rarely wrong, LB.”

The opening credits transitioned smoothly into the first scene of ‘My Life as a Courgette’. As it played out, they watched it intently, and as the movie went on, they moved closer together. Chat’s face seemed to crumble after a while; the main character did not have a happy family life. Ladybug vaguely remembered that Chat had a strained relationship with his parents, and she wondered if it was anything like this. 

She picked up the larger of the two blankets she had brought with her, unfolded it, and threw one side over Chat’s shoulders. He blinked, glanced at her, and then quickly snapped his gaze back to the movie as she tucked herself in on the other side.

Together, they sat underneath a warm, knitted blanket and watched the movie. The film was short - barely over an hour long - but at some point, their shoulders touched and they leaned into each other. They continued to make their way through the macarons, which included raspberry ones alongside the passion fruit, his second favourite flavour, and Ladybug admitted that they went well together.

She mentally filed away the information into her small Chat Noir folder, and Ladybug figured she could try and bring him some raspberry danishes next time. He always seemed to enjoy pastries, and now that she knew what flavours to focus on, she could make them herself. But wouldn’t it be too suspicious if she showed up with treats every patrol? _Probably,_ she figured.

Overall, the movie was good. It was a bit boring, but that might’ve been because she was hit with a wave of exhaustion about halfway through and couldn’t stop yawning. Chat Noir stated that he had enjoyed it, especially the happy ending, yet she had caught him staring at her more times than at the screen. As the end credits rolled, neither one of them made a move to stand up. The nights weren’t as cold as they had been a few weeks ago, but neither hero wanted to pull away from the warmth they shared.

“We…” Chat Noir swallowed; Ladybug could hear it, with her ear so close to his throat. He took a deep breath. “We should grab a schedule, Milady. See what they’re playing over the summer. Maybe we can get a discount if we buy the tickets in bulk.”

Ladybug chuckled. “If Papillon finds out we’re making this a regular thing, he’ll start sending out akumas on Saturday evenings so we’ll miss our showings.”

The groan that escaped Chat Noir was so deep, that Ladybug couldn’t help but laugh. She squeaked when he suddenly wrapped his arms around her, nuzzled into her, and complained loudly about, “Stupid akumas, stupid Papillon!” Blushing, Ladybug tried to pry him off and push him back, but her attempts were half-hearted and he eventually grew still.

When had she grown so lenient with his affection? 

She ran her gloved fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp absently, and tried to sort through her emotions. He didn’t purr, but he did relax, and Ladybug ran her hand down his head, to the nape of his neck, and around to his chin, lightly scratching all the while.

“I don’t want to go home,” Chat mumbled, sitting up and pulling away from her hand. Her eyes roamed over Chat’s face, taking in his pleading eyes and demure behaviour. She wasn’t sure what she should be expecting from him, for Chat rarely wanted to part from her, but something was different tonight. 

“What’s wrong, _mon chaton?”_ Ladybug asked, her voice as quiet as his. 

He hummed and didn’t answer right away. It was probably something too personal, too revealing, and he was looking for a way to voice his problems without giving away too much information. They had already shared something forbidden tonight: they happened to like the same bakery. 

“My family is rough,” he stated simply. “My folks are super controlling. I’m supposed to go on a long trip after school is out for the summer, for three weeks in August, but I don’t want to go. I’m trying to pull out of it.”

 _Ouch._ Without Chat Noir, she’d be left defending Paris almost entirely on her own. Sure, Ladybug could go and grab Rena Rouge or Carapace, but a fight without Chat Noir always went pear-shaped. It would be difficult. She pursed her lips, thinking quickly.

“This might sound crazy,” she started. He gave her a puzzled look. “But what if...we tried to bring down Papillon before then? Would that help?”

His eyes blew wide, cat pupils shrinking. “There’s no way!” He hissed. “We have no idea _who_ or _where_ he is, and there’s not enough time in the world to comb all of Paris!”

She shook her head. “I don’t think we have to,” she mumbled. They pulled a little further away from each other, and the blanket slipped off their shoulders. He was watching her warily. 

“What do you mean?”  
  
“I think Papillon is getting more and more desperate,” Ladybug continued. “Akuma attacks are increasing in frequency. He’s sending them out when we’re supposed to be sleeping. He’s sometimes akumatising multiple people a day.” They hadn’t had a double attack since January, but she feared them when they did happen. She would be fatigued, worn out, and unprepared for another fight until she had slept. It wasn’t the physical exhaustion that got to her; it was the mental. “He must want to settle this soon. Or he’s planning something. Maybe…” Ladybug bit her bottom lip.

“You want to pressure him into a final confrontation before I have to leave,” Chat Noir said, as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Ladybug nodded. Chat sighed, mulling it over. 

“I’m still going to try and get out of the trip,” he said firmly, his eyes hard. “I _really_ don’t want to go. I don’t want to leave Paris and you behind, Papillon or not.”

_“Mon chaton…”_

“You can’t change my mind, Milady.” He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it, green eyes never leaving her face. She frowned, pulled her hand away, and finally stood up. The audience in the park had all but left, and her parents would be expecting her back home sooner rather than later. Chat Noir got the hint, sighed, and helped her fold the blanket and put together their trash to take down to the rubbish bin. Once everything was together, he turned to her and asked another question.

“How do you plan on finding him?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know yet,” Ladybug admitted. “Maybe that’s something we can discuss later. Maybe I can grab Rena Rouge and Carapace - or even someone else - and we can try and arrange something. Between all of us, there has to be a viable plan.”

Thankfully, he didn’t bring up the fact that _she_ was always the one with a plan. That sometimes, a fight relied entirely on her figuring out a tricky Lucky Charm. Instead, he just nodded in agreement. They left the rooftop together to toss away their trash, pick up a movie schedule from a manager still assisting with the cleanup, and briefly lingered around the park to discuss the showings and the movies being played. There wouldn’t be many more showings until summer, when the weather was warmer and more bearable, but they picked out a couple that looked good and agreed on who should purchase the tickets.

Yet when it came time to part ways, they both lingered. They chatted and teased, as friends normally do, but neither of them wanted to _actually_ leave. In the back of her mind, Ladybug knew she had to go before her parents started to worry, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave her superhero partner behind. 

In the end, Papillon made the decision for them.


	12. Dance Monkey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat and Ladybug face down a fiery opponent, Adrien yearns to see his Lady again, and there's another Ladynoir date. Wait, they're not dating! Chat can't get his hopes up THAT high! Arrrggh!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the time stuff starts to get a little wonky. This chapter runs from the 11th to the 25th of March - two weeks. Please take the time to enjoy this chapter, as it contains the first scene that inspired me to write this story. You'll know it when you read it, I think ;)

The first rumbling explosion nearly threw them off their feet. Chat had to catch Ladybug before she fell, but she sent him a glare that said she was fine. He let go and held his hands up in surrender as Ladybug looked back over Paris. Not far off in the distance, they could see a bright flash of light and a building starting to crumble. Without thinking, they both started towards the chaos. 

Upon arrival at the scene, they immediately jumped into action. Chat Noir started helping to evacuate civilians with a serious expression, even picking up children to rush them across the street to their worried parents, and Ladybug zipped up to the upper floors to check for anyone inside. Chat kept an eye out for the akuma, but between the deteriorating walls of the building and the smoke from the fire - the flash of light they had seen from afar, he realised - he couldn’t make out anyone that was suspicious. 

Chat went back inside, helped a young woman navigate out of the smoke and debris, and returned to find Ladybug leaping down from an upper floor with a teenager. She dropped them off on the opposite side of the street, turned around, started to go back-

Chat Noir rushed forward and grabbed her arm to pull her back. “It’s too dangerous!” He growled. “If we can find and stop the akuma, the building will be repaired!”

He had a point, and she knew it. Ladybug wrinkled her nose at the idea of  _ abandoning  _ people in need, but the akuma was top priority. She turned to him. “Did you see where it went?”   
  
He shook his head. 

“Did anyone see which way the akuma went?” Ladybug asked the crowd at large. An elderly man pointed north and his directions were confirmed by several nods. Ladybug thanked him, and they leapt over the buildings to take to the rooftops.

On the ground, several trees had caught fire. He could hear the wailing of sirens in the distance, obviously the fire department responding to the calls of concerned civilians, and after a quick scan of the street, they moved on. They couldn’t stop for a few burning trees. They moved onto the next street, someone shouted at Ladybug, but they quickly concluded it wasn’t a shout for help and moved on.

They wouldn't be able to catch up with the akuma for another three streets. It had set fire to several trees, collapsed two other buildings, and several shops were now missing awnings. Ladybug grit her teeth and Chat watched her with a wary eye; he knew exactly how much it pained her to not stop and help people. It pained him too, leaving them behind so they could deal with the root of the situation. But firefighters had already arrived at several scenes, and both heroes knew they’d be able to handle it. 

But civilians wouldn’t be able to handle an akuma. 

It turned out the akuma was pure  _ fire. _ Heat and flame curled from their fingers and smoke rouse from their head like a bad hair day. Even their clothes seemed to be made from fire, or they had burned away and been replaced, but Chat couldn’t look at the akuma long enough to tell. It was like looking straight at the sun, and with his enhanced night vision, it was nearly blinding.

Getting the akuma’s attention was easy. 

“Hey, hot stuff!” Chat yelled, running forward and swinging his stick. It passed right through the akuma’s chest, and the metal pole suddenly felt hot beneath his gloves. Chat knew he couldn’t be burned through the suit, but it worried him. “Leave some looks for the rest of us!”

The akuma let out a roar that caused the ground around them to crack and shift. Ladybug zipped around to flank the akuma from the back, and Chat continued to try and battle it with his stick. The fiery mass dodged the first few stabs, but the fourth swing collided with their head. Chat gave a shout of triumph when he hit something  _ solid. _

“The head!” He cried, jumping backwards as the akuma lumbered towards him, shouting heat and smoke from their mouth. Ladybug nodded and threw out her yo-yo, and Chat watched as it wrapped around whatever was inside the head. After she pulled the string taut, she yelped. Chat concluded that she could feel the heat through her suit just like he could.

She dropped the string, flinching as if she had been burned, and the akuma slipped free. Chat ran after them as they went up the street. Every time they passed a tree, they ran a hand along the trunk, causing the foliage to burst into flame. The trees had just started to bloom again too, and the fresh leaves gave off an oily smoke that clogged the lungs and made Chat’s eyes burn. 

Ladybug ran past him as he stopped to furiously rub at his eyes, the smoke causing them to water. 

“Chat Noir, are you alright?!” She desperately turned back to look at him, but Chat waved her away. 

“Keep going, Milady! I’ll get upwind of him!”

She nodded in understanding, and she kept following the akuma. Every now and again they would try to attack her, blasting fire from their hands or dodging her yo-yo, but Chat watched it all from the rooftops. Using his stick, he had propelled himself to the top of the buildings to run upwind of the akuma, hoping to get the smoke out of his eyes and nose so he could properly function.

Her lucky charm was a bike lock.

“A smoke mask would be more useful, LB!” Chat cried as he landed behind their enemy to sweep his stick through the akuma's legs. The mass of fire tripped and went down in a blast of embers, and Ladybug and Chat Noir danced nimbly out of the way of the hot coals. Her eyes were desperately looking around the square they had run into, and Chat kept the akuma distracted as she ran around, grabbing various items.

He wondered if he could push the akuma in the Seine and that would cleanse the butterfly. 

“Chat, get ready!” She called, running back with a giant strip of cloth and a traffic cone. 

_ “Cataclysm!”  _

The akuma lunged for her, but Chat deftly prevented the manoeuvre with his stick. Thankfully, even with his power brimming in his right hand, it didn’t destroy his weapon, and the akuma backpedalled as Ladybug used her yo-yo to soar above the square. Chat had barely enough time to realise what she was going to do, and he quickly stumbled backwards and out of the way as she dropped a huge cloth on top of the akuma.

For awhile, they flailed, but Ladybug dropped back on top of them to hold them down. Chat quickly moved forward as well, helping her hold them, being careful to not touch the cloth with his ring hand, but the akuma was soon  _ burning  _ through the thick fabric, and their head was coming through-

“Now!”

Chat’s yell of triumph turned into a pained squeak as he pushed his destructive hand through the smothered flames to the akuma's metal helmet. The heroes both pulled themselves away quickly, and the helmet dissolved into ash, leaving behind two confused adults.

_ How ironic, _ Chat thought, holding his burned hand as the black butterfly fluttered away. Ladybug caught it in her yo-yo, let it loose, and took the bike lock off the rings in the cloth.

_ “Bye bye, petit papillon…”  _

Her miraculous ladybug fixed the fire damage across the city, restored trees to their former glory, and fixed the crumbling buildings several streets away. Chat felt the ache in his hand leave him when the glow swept through the square, and the two heroes shared a, “Pound it!” before their miraculous jewellery started to beep. They quickly escorted the victims home, but afterwards, Ladybug turned to her partner.

“Were you hurt,  _ mon chaton?” _ She asked, eyeing his hand. She looked concerned, but Chat waved her off.

“It wasn’t that bad. The suit protects us, after all.” 

Ladybug nodded in understanding, and she hurried away from him after a quick goodbye. He waved after her, a little hurt emotionally, but he figured she had to get back home; unlike him, her parents were probably waiting up for her and might be worried. They were only supposed to see a short movie, and the akuma attack had taken a lot of time.

But Chat Noir had to get back home as well. If Nathalie found out Adrien was out of the house without permission again, he’d be in for a whole different kind of trouble.

Ring beeping, he ran from the square and leapt over buildings and streets, and he managed to just barely check the perimeter before landing in his bedroom. Plagg zipped out mere seconds later, and Adrien breathed a sigh of relief. Holding onto his transformation was getting easier, but he didn’t want to risk losing the suit somewhere inopportune. Like someone’s roof, at the top of his stick, or halfway over the Agreste Manor wall. How would he explain breaking a bone in Mother’s garden to his father?

He checked the Ladyblog for news regarding their fight tonight. Sure enough, Alya had already posted an article with details and video of the encounter, and Adrien read and watched back through as Plagg nibbled on his third piece of cheese. He couldn’t stop himself from flinching as he watched himself force his hand through a thin layer of flame to Cataclysm the akuma’s helmet.

“Plagg,” Adrien said quietly. “Thanks for protecting us.”

“Yeah, yeah, long as I still get cheese afterwards.”

Adrien knew that Plagg appreciated the praise. This fight had been difficult, tricky, and they had been transformed for an extended amount of time tonight. Judging by Plagg’s fourth piece of camembert, they had burned through a ton of energy.

“Hey, when will I be able to hold my transformation after I’ve used my powers? Like Papillon and Mayura can?” Adrien asked curiously. Plagg stopped his chewing to stare at him.

“Depends,” the kwami answered unhelpfully. “It’s an adult thing.”

“Seriously?” Adrien doubted him.

“Yep. Maturity and experience. Like a good, ripe cheese.”

“Why bother giving the miraculous to children then?”

Plagg just shrugged and turned away. “I’m a kwami, not a Guardian. Ask Ladybug or something.”

Adrien also doubted he’d get an answer out of her. If Plagg didn’t know, how would Ladybug? Tikki had seemed like a significantly nicer and more honest kwami, but that didn’t mean she knew any more than what Plagg had shared.

“I’ll ask Master Fu when I see him next.”

Plagg snorted, but he didn’t comment.

For the next few hours, Adrien scrolled further through the Ladyblog, rereading older articles and rewatching videos, but he grew increasingly bored. Seeing her through a screen paled in comparison to hanging out with her in real life, and he had done a  _ lot  _ of that lately. Between the movies, patrols, and akuma attacks, he was seeing her nearly every day. Gritting his teeth, he closed out the website, shut down his computer, and got ready for bed. 

Tomorrow was Sunday. An akuma attack would be unlikely after tonight’s, and it was Ladybug’s one day ‘off’. He might as well get it over with. 

* * *

Thankfully, there was no akuma on Monday morning. Instead, they were greeted by a giant, fumbling toddler halfway through their usual patrol that evening, and Chat Noir had to dodge huge, gross globs of saliva that rained down from its toothless mouth. He didn’t escape entirely unscathed; he really hoped Ladybug’s miraculous cure got baby spittle out of hair, because he didn’t want to find out if his shampoo would.

“Chat, the billboard!” Ladybug cried. Without thinking (and with a sick sort of satisfaction, because  _ of course, _ his face was on this one), Chat ran forward and summoned his own power.

_ “Cataclysm!” _

He ran his ring hand over the support beams, allowing the board itself to topple. The toddler caught it, and Ladybug used her lucky charm - was that a pool float?! - to surf down the back, wedged the pool float between the akuma’s gums, snatched up the teething ring that was the akumatized object, broke it, and quickly purified the butterfly and set things right. 

_ “Miraculous Ladybug!” _

Chat caught the young girl before she hit the ground, cradling her carefully so he didn’t prick her with his claws. Ladybug sighed in relief as she landed next to him.

“I hate it when it’s kids,” she grumbled. Chat Noir nodded as the little girl stared up at him, confused and dazed. His eyes caught a flicker of movement up the street - a man, distraught and frazzled, running towards them as fast as he could. Both heroes moved towards him after glancing briefly at each other and nodding.

“My daughter!”

The toddler safely back with a family member, they waved their goodbyes and headed up to a nearby roof. Together, they travelled back to their usual parting point, but instead of letting her leave, Chat grabbed her wrist and forced Ladybug to stop. 

“Chat, I’m about to-”   
  
“I know!” He cried. He could clearly see only two more spots remaining on her earrings. “But I wanted to ask if you wanted to, uh, hang out again this weekend.”

She hesitated. “We just saw a movie on Saturday,  _ mon chaton.” _ Ladybug chuckled nervously. “Eager much?”   
  
“Always eager to see you, Milady.” He said with a smirk. “But...your answer?”

Guilt and regret twisted in his gut when she shook her head. “I promised a friend I’d help them. But…” A grin appeared on her lips, and Chat felt hope rising in his chest. “Maybe the weekend after that? I don’t know what movie is playing, but-”

“Not a movie,” he insisted. Her earrings beeped loudly, and he quickly pushed the next few words out of his mouth. “Something else, something different. We’ll have fun.”

She blinked at him, clearly suspicious, but she didn’t have time to try and find out what he meant. “I gotta go, Chat,” she stated, flinging out her yo-yo to snag it around a chimney. “We’ll discuss it next time, but I’m down for anything as long as it’s safe.”

He knew she didn’t mean ‘safe’ as in not-dangerous or legal; she meant ‘safe’ as in their identities. Quickly, he nodded in confirmation.

“Definitely, Milady.”

“Good night! Bug out!”

He had really been hoping they could meet  _ this  _ weekend. Kitty Section, a band formed by some of his friends, had a gig on Saturday night, and he thought, maybe, she’d be interested in checking them out. The chances of him being able to go as Adrien were slim to none; his father disagreed with him playing the piano for anything  _ but  _ classical purposes. While he wouldn’t be performing himself, Gabriel would see it as a negative influence on his son’s musical talents.

Plus, he had promised Nathalie he wouldn’t sneak out anymore. 

Adrien paced like an agitated cat in his bedroom, rolling ideas over in his mind. He had no idea what kind of music Ladybug liked; would she prefer something like Jagged Stone or Clara Nightingale? Maybe she actually liked the sound of XY (oh gosh he  _ hoped  _ not). Perhaps taking her to see a DJ would be better, someone who could mix all the popular music and then he wouldn’t have to worry about which artists she did and didn’t like.

When he finally settled down enough to start looking for tickets on the computer, Adrien was thoroughly disappointed. There was no way he could get his hands on tickets without exposing his name, without using a credit card, and all of the major venues in Paris required a name for the guest ticket as well - which would be downright impossible. Now in a moral dilemma, he sat back and tried to think of a solution.

Gradually, a smirk spread across his face. He sat up straight, did an internet search, and was satisfied enough with the results to sleep his computer and head to bed.

A little less than two weeks, and he could hang out with his Lady again.

* * *

“Nathalie, may I see my friends’ concert this weekend?”

She looked up from her planner. He was supposed to be eating his breakfast, but the question had been nagging at Adrien for all of yesterday. He figured he could give it a go today, as his father was less busy in the middle of the week versus the beginning of it, and Nathalie would have better luck persuading him.

Yet she looked...sceptical. 

“What day?” She asked anyway. Adrien took a deep breath; he couldn’t get his hopes up quite yet.

“Saturday evening. It starts at seven.”

“I’ll have to ask your father. What kind of concert would you be attending?”

Here, he bit the inside of his cheek. “They have a band called Kitty Section.”

Her gaze hardened, but it soon relaxed. “I’ll ask. No promises.”

Adrien toed the ground and rubbed his neck, trying his best to appear sheepish. “I figured I’d better ask this time than sneak out again.”

Yet Nathalie was far more clever than he was. She glared at him behind her glasses, seeing the thinly concealed threat in his words. Her mouth flattened into a thin line. 

“Coercion does not become you, Adrien.” She stated simply before turning around and walking away. Adrien understood that he would be in as much trouble as she if he snuck out again and was caught; his father did not forgive and forget. Revealing that Nathalie had been omitting the truth from him would be a huge strike against her. 

And so he reluctantly sat down and finished his breakfast, packed up his bags, and went to school. When he came back home for lunch later in the day, Nathalie was there to report his father’s answer: a solid, unmoving, cold and stern, “No.” In addition, Nathalie made sure that he understood the consequences of his actions.

“If I discover that you sneak out on Saturday to attend the event anyway, Adrien,” Nathalie remarked. “And I  _ will _ find out, I will be  _ very  _ disappointed in you.”

Adrien gritted his teeth, but he took a deep breath and sighed. He resigned himself to a lonely weekend of piano, Chinese lessons, and the low possibility of meeting up with Kagami for fencing again. Unless, of course, there was an akuma attack.

And of course, there was one. 

Saturday evening’s attack marked the fourth one that week, and Chat went through the motions of trying to take it down. Now that Ladybug had pointed it out to him, he noticed the frequency of them, the simplicity of them, the attempts to throw them out at unusual times or to interrupt their lives (not that akuma attacks were ever planned or straightforward to begin with). It took them nearly an hour to settle the akuma down - a drummer had been insulted when his band replaced him because he was late - and Ladybug had to go grab Carapace in the middle of the fight. The turtle’s help was much appreciated, but Chat had to quickly return home after the butterfly’s purification or Nathalie would discover that he’d been gone. 

It turned out, he was lucky. Nathalie had fallen asleep at her desk, and Adrien made the effort to pull a blanket from the hall closet and throw it over her shoulders before going to bed himself. On the way past, Adrien saw that the light was still on in his father’s room, but he would never dare to interrupt Gabriel while he was busy - and it hurt to know that he couldn’t even say, “Good night,” to his own father without second-guessing himself or without being scolded.

It made Adrien grit his teeth. It made him want to transform and leave the mansion as Chat Noir, just to rebel and earn himself a little more freedom.

So of course, that’s exactly what he did a week later, after another three akuma battles and confirming with Ladybug that they were still on for the weekend. It was getting more and more difficult to balance school and superhero duties, as well as all the other clutter on Adrien’s plate, but he made sure his Saturday evening was free by telling Nathalie and his bodyguard that he didn’t want to be disturbed while he practised his recital piece for Sunday. The second everything was set up, and pre-recorded piano music was set to play in his absence, Chat Noir leapt from the window of the Agreste Manor and out onto the Parisian rooftops. He was free and flying, leaping and happy, his heart pounding as he sought out his Lady.

She was waiting for him patiently, and she didn’t seem to mind he was a tad late. Ladybug smiled at him as he bowed and took her hand to kiss the back of it. “So what mischief do you have planned for us,  _ mon chaton?”  _

“I wanted to bring you dancing, Milady.”

“Dancing?” Ladybug asked, chuckling nervously. “I’ve got two left feet, Chat.” She looked at him with doubt and concern, but there was a spark in her eyes that pushed Chat onward. 

“I make quite a pawsome dance partner,” he smirked, and she rolled her eyes. “I won’t let you fall.”

Reluctantly, Ladybug eventually agreed to go with him, but she reminded him that they mustn’t reveal their identities or join any crowds - just like their movie meet-ups. He nodded briefly in understanding, since he had already considered these rules of hers, and he led her to the top of a building a few blocks over, close to the Seine. It had a mostly flat roof, and someone had set up a wide variety of potted plants with some lights strung up. Yet beneath them, vibrating the floor and leaking through the open windows, they could clearly hear the DJ and his mix of music. They were alone on the roof, as far as Ladybug could tell.

“It’s just you and me,” Chat said, quiet and unsure. “I promise.” 

At first, Ladybug was hesitant. Chat tried to coax her into dancing to the current beat, bobbing his head and holding her hands, and while she started to sway a little, she lost her confidence halfway through and shook her head. 

“How about this,” he decided to try. “I dance for you, and you join me when you feel comfortable?”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “What is  _ that  _ supposed to mean, Chat Noir?” 

“Nothing at all, Milady!” He laughed. And honestly, at first, he looked like a total dork, dancing by himself in the middle of the roof while Ladybug stood to the side, watching. But she recognized the song, the beat, and she knew the words, so she started to sway too, slowly but surely, and he held out his hand.

She rolled her eyes, glanced away, but reluctantly took it and joined him. Their dancing was light, playful, and - more than anything -  _ fun. _ Once she was more comfortable, it was easy to relax and give in. They twirled around each other, their superhero suits allowing them to be more flexible than they would be as normal civilians, and they didn’t trip over each other’s feet as they moved in circles.

On the third song, Ladybug’s eyes went wide. Her smile took his breath away, and she let go of his hand to back away. 

“I  _ love  _ this song!” She exclaimed, already swaying and moving to the rapid beat. Chat could see it in the way she moved - it was more authentic, more passionate, more fluid - and it reminded him of the way she confidently confronted akumas and compassionately put the victims back on their feet. Her arms flung out, she spun, her feet shuffled, and all Chat could do was stare.

Because she was genuinely happy as she enjoyed moving to the rhythm of her favourite song, her mouth occasionally forming the lyrics and her hand tapping the air to the deep bass of the beat. Her eyes fluttered closed at some point, but at times she opened them to make sure she wasn’t about to run into anything. The entirety of her body, from her skin to her muscles to her very  _ bones, _ oscillated to the music. Instinct seemed to guide her motions, her steps, and she grew bolder and bolder with her dancing until Chat swore he could no longer breathe. She took all the air from his lungs to fuel her own, surely. 

He had no words to describe her in this moment, only that she was beautiful and wonderful and  _ miraculous- _

When Ladybug caught Chat watching her instead of enthusiastically dancing along, she blushed, grabbed his hands, and forced him to move with her, her hips swaying, her shoulders rolling, and her smile as bright as the sun. Desperately, he tried to return it, and he forced his chest to expand as oxygen rushed back through his nose. Yet he still couldn’t match her rhythm, enthralled as he is, and he was so caught up in  _ her  _ that he would later struggle to remember the song so he can look it up and memorise it. 

Chat did not want the song to end, but as all things do, it eventually gave way to a new melody. This one, Chat instantly recognized. 

“And I love this one!” He proclaimed, and she laughed, loudly, openly. 

“Dance for me,  _ mon chaton! _ Move for me!”

He did.

At first, he started slow, his movements deliberate and jerky as he followed the deep bass into the opening lines. She watched him with bright, blue eyes, and she rolled them when Chat caught her staring and winked. As the song progressed, his dancing became more supple, more nimble, and he allowed himself to progress into something more graceful, something  _ sultry, _ trying to pour his heart into whatever jive he was conjuring up. A sway there, a swing here, tapping his foot and twisting his hands and hoping that she understood whatever it was he was trying to say without words.

Because as good as Chat was at saying the things that are important, as often as he would say that he loved her, he had never shown her the true depth of his affections. Into his dancing erupted all of the emotion that he had for her, everything from his devotion to his yearning to his  _ respect, _ and as the song moved into its final chorus and the beat increased, he had no idea how to use his voice anymore. There are no words to express his gratitude and appreciation for his Lady, and as the music started to close out, Chat realised she was no longer dancing. Instead, she watched him, her face a mixture of sadness, confusion, and...fondness? Cherishment?

He paused. The next song started. It was sad and slow, but they weren’t paying it any attention. Chat realised he was panting. Odd, he shouldn’t tire out while he was transformed...

“Chat…” She said, taking a step towards him, reaching out, and he lifted his hand to catch hers. He brought it to his lips for the second time that night, and Ladybug faltered. He peered up at her, watching her expression change from one emotion to the next, but it never lingered on one he could read. He decided to break the silence.

“My heart will always dance for you, Milady.”

He was not expecting her to flinch.

“I… I don’t want to toy with your feelings, Chat.” She mumbled. He laughed, and she glared at him.

“You’re not, LB. I promise. I brought my best friend here to dance with me, and I’m just excited that she’s enjoying herself.” And while there was a pang in his chest for labelling her as his friend, his eyes are honest. She was his best friend; he would refer to Nino as such in his civilian life, but out here, under the stars and surrounded by the lights of Paris,  _ she  _ was the only one who mattered.

“I am,” she whispered, the words barely audible over the thump of the music. “It’s...good to let go for a bit. It’s a reminder that we’re…”

_ That we’re only children, _ Chat finished in his head.

They’re not, of course: they’re teenagers.

“Even superheroes are allowed to have some fun. While the cat’s away, the mice will play.”

She giggled, and his heart soared.

“May I have this dance then, Milady?” He asked her properly. The song was halfway over, and he was already holding her hand, but her grip tightened and he took that as an affirmative. He led her around the rooftop, coordinated and smooth, and she followed willingly, laughing with him as they tried to gain back a happier atmosphere.

Through some songs, they danced together, matching each other’s groove and working as a team. It was easy for him to read her, and for her to read him - they’ve been doing it for so long, mostly subconsciously, that guessing her next move was as simple as breathing. When they didn’t match up, they laughed and tried to find their rhythm again.

On other songs, usually when only one of them recognized it, they danced solo, bleating out lyrics while the other watched, calmly grooving along and getting swept up into their partner’s enthusiasm. There was no more deep, emotional connection like before - Chat wouldn’t allow himself to sink any further in love than he already was, and Ladybug was slowly letting herself go as the night went on. She was getting clumsier and clumsier with every hour that passed, and after some clock far away had struck eleven, she twirled and took a harsh tumble. 

Rubbing her bum as she winced, Chat offered her a hand to help her up. Ladybug took it. 

“Are you alright, Buginette?” He asked, pulling her to her feet. She nodded, still nursing the spot she had landed on. Chat knew there was no real pain, but her pride had definitely been wounded. 

“Yeah. Sorry, I’m madly clumsy normally.” Her smile was sweet and nervous.

“I know.”

Ladybug blinked, narrowing her eyes at him. Chat quickly backpedalled. 

“I-I mean, you told me!” He defended, waving his hands in front of him in mock defence. Not that it would help any if she came at him. “When we first met!”

“Huh,” she relaxed, and Chat let loose a sigh of relief. “I don’t know if I remember that. Sounds about right though.” 

He smiled, trying to reassure her, but it soon slipped from his face. “Did you want to get going now? We’ll probably be pretty tired once we detransform.”

She briefly contemplated on an answer before nodding. “Yeah. I gotta be up early tomorrow. I should try to get  _ some  _ sleep.”

And so they left the rooftop garden after Chat made sure to turn off the lights and that everything was in its rightful place. The cool rush of air on their faces felt nice after dancing most of the night away, but all too soon, they landed side-by-side on their usual parting rooftop to wish each other a final set of goodbyes.

Yet when Chat opened his mouth to tell her good night, she instead pulled him into a crushing hug. Her head tucked perfectly underneath his chin, and once the shock wore off, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply. Shampoo, flowers, sweat, bread, and a thousand other things that his human brain couldn’t sort through but his amplified nose picked up on.

“Thank you,” Ladybug mumbled into his chest. “I didn’t know I needed something like this until…” She trailed off.

“Did it help you, Milady?”

“It did. It really, really did.” 

And he was elated.

That feeling got him through the rest of the weekend and the rest of the week, as he counted down the hours until he could see his Lady again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I have some sad news for my readers. I won't be able to update next week because I will be travelling for work! So Chapter 13 will thus not be posted until the 12th of June. I know this is a long wait, but I hope this chapter tides you over <3


	13. Dissolve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is struggling to juggle responsibilities, both personal and superhero, and sort through the boys fighting for room in her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter <3
> 
> Once again, time gets a little weird. This chapter starts on the 18th of March - the Saturday of Kitty Section's performance that Adrien misses - and runs past the Ladynoir dance to Tuesday the 28th of March.

Seeing Kitty Section perform on an actual stage, in a small venue with actual ticket sales, with actual fans and a merchandise booth, was a surreal experience. Marinette was ecstatic for all of her friends, and Nino had come along to help them set up the sound and lighting equipment while Alya helped her with the merchandise. They didn’t make many sales, barely enough to fund the making of more merchandise, but when she reported the numbers to Rose and Juleka, both were stunned and chatted excitedly about what this could mean for the band. Mylène had offered to help them clean up the stage to make room for the next band, and Marinette and Alya had just started breaking down the booth, when she got the akuma alert on her phone. 

Of course, it was the drummer for the next band to go live. A slightly more popular group, most of the people at the venue had turned out for them, and Kitty Section had just been the opener. Yet when the akuma started to rage and tear through the crowd with cymbals and snare drums, Marinette slipped away in the chaos to transform.

Chat Noir showed up a while later, a slew of music-related puns already at his disposal. 

“What’re you  _ snaring  _ at, drummer boy?!” Chat distracted the akuma as Ladybug summoned her Lucky Charm. It was a small cardboard box, like the kind that fast food burgers came in… 

The pieces clicked. “Chat, I’ll be right back!”    
  
“Milady, please hurry, before this gets drum-atic!”

She hurried across the street as Marinette while Tikki nibbled on a macaron in her purse, and sure enough, Master Fu happened to be sitting in the back of the small, empty fast food joint. 

“Master Fu!” She called, sliding into the seat beside him. “I don’t have much time! I need the turtle!”

He was surprised to see her, but he nodded gravely at her request. Marinette knew she had options this time around: Both Luka and Alya were in the venue as well, as were a myriad of other friends that she would trust with a magic jewel, but she knew what she needed.

“Please make sure to return it to me quickly, Marinette,” Fu said in a whisper.

“I will, Master.”

She left in a hurry, transformed behind the restaurant, and hurried back to the venue.

Ladybug rushed the miraculous back to Nino, dragged Carapace into the fight, and with the assistance of his Shell-ter and Chat’s,  _ “Cataclysm!”, _ Ladybug captured and purified the akuma. The fight was long and had destroyed a majority of the venue, but her Lucky Charm set everything to rights after she threw it into the air. Alya caught the whole thing on her phone, but she looked a little bummed that Ladybug had selected Carapace and not Rena Rouge for this battle.

“Pound it!”

“I have to get going, I hope no one got a  _ percussion!” _ Chat made a hasty retreat, but not before dropping one last pun. Ladybug groaned as he ran out the door. Carapace chuckled, and Ladybug dragged him out the back to retrieve the miraculous. 

“Thank you for your assistance tonight.”

“Alya was here too, y’know,” Nino said as he placed the bracelet back into her waiting hands. Ladybug frowned. “Rena Rouge coulda helped us.” 

“I...know. I didn’t think the fox would be needed for the fight.”

“It coulda gone faster if we’d had more hands.”

“We don’t know that,” Ladybug retorted. The door beside them opened, and sure enough, Alya stepped out. She wasn’t recording anymore, but her eyes were flickering from Nino to Ladybug and her face was full of questions.

Ladybug looked right at her when she spoke again. “The akuma was taken care of.  _ That’s  _ what matters most.” She looked back at Nino. “The more heroes on the field, the more we risk losing. We have to be careful.”

Her earrings gave a warning beep, and Ladybug’s frown deepened. “I have to get going,” she mumbled, glancing away and flinging out her yo-yo. “I need to return the miraculous.”

“Wait, Ladybug!” Alya stepped forward, reaching for her, but after a second thought, she didn’t touch her. Ladybug waited, looking back at her with guilt settling heavily in her gut.

“I understand. I’m...not upset. Well, I am upset, but I want you to know that I’m always willing to help. I know the akuma attacks are getting more and more frequent. I’m looking into it.”

Ladybug waited, not speaking. Alya took a deep breath.

“You and Chat Noir shouldn’t have to juggle this all alone. I want Papillon brought to justice just as much as you. The Ladyblog has tons of information on akumas: locations, sightings, time between attacks...”

She could see where Alya was going with this, and Ladybug slowly smiled. “You think the information could lead us to him.”

“I… I dunno. I have ideas, theories, but no way to prove them. I was hoping...”

“That we could help?” Ladybug offered. She would have to talk with Chat first, but with the clock already ticking, they were both willing to try anything to root out Papillon. Alya nodded.

“Thank you, Alya. And thank you again, Nino. Bug out!” 

Marinette came back to the venue to her friends scolding her for running off; no one had been able to find her after the akuma attack (of course), and Marinette tried to wave it off as if she had found a safe place to hide. She hated abandoning her friends during akumas - they needed her, she was their class representative and was supposed to be a  _ leader  _ \- but she also knew that being Ladybug would save and protect them more than being Marinette would help them.

She assisted Kitty Section in packing up everything and loading it into a van Luka had borrowed for the night. He climbed into the driver’s seat while she got in from the passenger’s side to sit in the middle. Juleka sat next to her, and the other band members sat in the back to watch the equipment.

“That was awesome,” Juleka said quietly, but the grin on her face told them that she was excited.

“Yeah,” Luka nodded. “Besides the akuma, tonight went really well.” He started up the van as he glanced down at Marinette. “Did you have fun? Are you alright?”

“Yeah!” Marinette said eagerly, folding her hands in her lap. “It was a great chance to help out the band, I really appreciate it.”   
  
“We appreciate  _ you, _ Marinette!” Rose squealed from the backseat, leaning forward as Luka moved the van from park into drive. “I love the new pieces, they’re so much more comfortable! And now we have  _ two  _ sets of costumes!” 

Ivan nodded his head in agreement.

They dropped the equipment off at the boat, and Juleka stayed behind while her brother drove everyone back to their respective homes. Ivan and Mylène went home first, then Rose, and then it was just him and Marinette in the big, empty van. She had moved into the passenger seat when his sister had left, and the bakery was still a ways off.

“I enjoyed having you with us tonight, Marinette,” Luka said into the quiet. She glanced at him, but he was watching the road. “Did you want to join us next week?”

She nearly said yes, excited to hang out with her friends again, but then she remembered Chat. Her excitement faded.

“I’d love to,” she started, her tone regretful. “But I already promised another friend that we’d meet up, and he’d be real bummed if I backed out.”

“Ahh, I understand. Adrien doesn’t get to go out much, I’d hate to back out on him too.”

Marinette blinked in confusion. “Adrien? I didn’t say we were…” She trailed off, her face scrunching up. She couldn’t tell Luka who she was  _ actually  _ meeting up with, so why clue him in on otherwise? “Why’d you assume it was Adrien?” She asked instead. 

Luka shrugged. “It’s this sound that you get. I can’t...explain it. It’s like the music in you changes, it matches his.” Marinette saw a pained expression flash across his face as he tried to explain, and she couldn’t help the pang of guilt in her chest. She knew Luka liked her, and she liked him too, but not the way she loved Adrien.  _ Had  _ loved Adrien. And she didn’t yet know if she could move on. 

And besides, she wasn’t meeting Adrien next week. She was meeting  _ Chat. _ So his observation was clearly wrong, but it was amusing.

She was ignoring the other implications of his assumption, like that she might hold affections for her feline partner, or that she wanted to start considering Chat Noir as more than a friend. That their music supposedly matched enough for others to notice it, and she was the one turning a deaf ear.

“Sorry,” he apologised when Marinette never replied. “I’m not very good with words. But I want to support you, Marinette. You’re important to me.”

She tried to smile, tried to chuckle, but both came out half-hearted. “Thank you, Luka. That means a lot.”

“And if things don’t work out with Adrien,” he whispered, as he pulled up outside the boulangerie and shifted the van into park. The doors unlocked, and Marinette undid her seat belt. “I’ll be here. I’ll  _ always  _ be here.”

A chill ran down her spine. Things hadn’t worked out with Adrien, but she knew what he meant: If things didn’t work out with  _ Chat. _

She swallowed thickly. “Of course, I’ll remember that. Thanks for the ride home, Luka. Have a good night.”

“Good night, Marinette.”

“Text me when you get back home?”

Luka smiled, and she didn’t miss the way his eyes lit back up. “Sure.”

He made sure she got inside after she left the van, and she couldn’t shake the cold feeling trickling down her back as she climbed the stairs. When she looked out one of the windows that faced the street, he wasn’t there anymore, but she rubbed her arms to ward off the chill. Did he know? Or was he just assuming?

He  _ had  _ to be assuming.

There were three more akuma attacks in the week leading up to her and Chat’s hang-out date. On the second one, he made sure they were still on for Saturday, and on the third one, he wished her a happy evening as he leapt away. She had no idea what he was planning - but she was excited to face the unknown as well. 

She trusted him, after all.

Honestly, his Saturday night dance party was  _ exactly  _ what she needed after the stress of the week. Schoolwork had been putting a lot of pressure on her lately, and what with her side projects for Kitty Section and her designing, her responsibilities as both the class lead and Ladybug, plus the threat of an akuma attack at any time and the lack of sleep, Marinette was wondering when she would start to feel overwhelmed. Her parents had long stopped asking for her help in the bakery, as if sensing her stress. 

Yet unwinding with Chat, putting all of her frustrations and worries into bodily movement and dance, letting herself laugh and smile and have  _ fun, _ felt like a breath of fresh air after only breathing in smog. And Chat himself was an amazing dancer: He was equal parts grace and ferocity, carnal and elegance. Just like a cat, like an animal; it made her chuckle. And smile. And sigh.

“Marinette,” Tikki spoke up on Sunday evening. Marinette hummed as she nibbled on the end of her pencil, staring at her notes.

“I know we already talked about this,” her kwami continued. “But I really do think you should pull back on these dates.”

“They’re not dates, Tikki.” Marinette reassured her. They had had this conversation twice already; Tikki would scold her on using Ladybug for personal reasons, but her words were always mild because-

“I approve of Ladybug and Chat Noir becoming closer partners to better take on akumas,” Tikki repeated her opinion. “But what if one of you reveals your identity? Or Chat figures out your’s? Croissants from the  _ same  _ bakery?!” 

Marinette glanced at Tikki as the kwami stressed over the complications of superhero relationships. Personally, Marinette wasn’t worried about the croissants. Her parents’ boulangerie was one of the most popular in Paris, and a part of her was proud that Chat Noir considered them to be the best.

“A lot of people stop by the bakery,” Marinette defended. “Hundreds, actually. He’s not going to figure out Ladybug  _ lives  _ here just because she happens to buy croissants from the same place he does.”

Tikki whipped her tiny body around to glare at Marinette. “And what if some blond boy starts staking out the boulangerie?”

That would be slightly more concerning. Marinette would definitely notice if a blond boy with Chat’s height and build, with his flirts and puns, started hanging around the patisserie and tried to pick up girls who looked like Ladybug, like  _ her. _ Marinette groaned aloud as the fantasy played through her head: A tall, handsome boy with a devilish smirk; a quirky pun about baked goods and sweets; him bowing and lifting her hand to kiss the back of it; and then his eyes, bright and knowing, calling her “Milady” in front of her parents.

Oh, she would die of both embarrassment and anger on the spot! And then she’d come back to life just to kick his mangy butt to the kerb!

“We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it,” Marinette said simply. “But I don’t think Chat would do that. I trust him.”

Tikki made a noise in the back of her throat, one that Marinette recognized as a sound of doubt. She glared at her kwami.

“You don’t?”   
  
“He’s in love with Ladybug, and I think he’d do  _ anything _ to find out who she is.” 

Marinette shook her head. “He’s not like that anymore,” she mumbled. “I think Chat would prefer if I trusted him with my identity. I don’t mean to say that he won’t look,” she added when Tikki’s face hardened. “But he didn’t open his eyes when we fought Dark Owl, did he?”   
  
Tikki shook her head.

“And that time we transformed in the sewers to face Papillon, he didn’t peek then?”

Tikki reluctantly shook her head again.

“He understands, Tikki. Again, I  _ trust _ him.” Marinette lifted her kwami into her hands, bright blue eyes staring into worried ones. “Where would we be if I didn’t?”   
  
And right now, she trusted Chat more than anyone else in her life. 

She had to, of course. Every akuma attack tested their trust in each other, their ability to communicate, and their adaptability. An akuma on Tuesday morning tested them so thoroughly that when Marinette finally returned home that evening after school, she ran straight into a hard back and nearly fell.

“Whoops!”

Someone caught her gracefully and hauled her back to her feet. Embarrassed, Marinette stuttered out an apology.

“I’m s-so sorry, I’m so clumsy, are you-”

She looked up, and all the words fled.

Adrien smiled sheepishly down at her. “It’s fine. I am kind of in the way.” 

He was standing in the middle of the bakery, and her parents were watching both of them from the counter, nosy as always. Marinette blinked once, twice, trying to piece together  _ why  _ he was here, but then she took stock of the small box under his arm.

The silence dragged on until Adrien shuffled his feet and Marinette snapped out of her shock.

“No no!” She exclaimed. “Really, I’m just tired, uhm-”

“Are you doing okay?” He asked, his face suddenly tight with worry.

“Yeah, of course!” Marinette reassured him, moving to the counter to kiss and hug her parents hello. They asked her about her day as Adrien paid for his box, a small assortment of macarons, and then her mother grinned a wicked smile that made Marinette’s blood run cold. 

“Will you be visiting with us again today, Adrien?” Sabine asked him warmly. His kind smile slipped, but he kept it plastered on his face as he accepted his change.

“I…” He hesitated, glancing at Marinette for answers.

It had been weeks now since she had confessed her feelings, and while her heart hadn’t fully mended from the rejection, Marinette knew the pain was easing. She wasn’t stuttering around him like she used to, and he had given her space and time to heal, but now he was looking at her with such longing that her heart was twisting.

_ “I don’t want to lose your friendship,” _ he had told her. 

She took a deep breath. 

“Do you want to come upstairs and play some video games?” Marinette asked him, surprised by the bravery in her own voice. 

His eyes went wide with hope. "R-Really?" He stuttered. 

"I'm not gonna offer again, buttercup." She teased, her insides squirming as Marinette desperately tried to channel Ladybug. 

Adrien actually  _ blushed, _ but his answer was a quick, "Hold that thought," before he darted outside. Marinette and her parents watched him as he ran to the gray vehicle parked outside, opened the door, and talked with whoever was inside.

He hurried back seconds later, still holding onto his white box of macarons, breathless and panting but positively beaming.

"Yes!" Adrien exclaimed. "I'd love to!"

* * *

They started out with a couple of croissants, a few quick matches in Ultimate Mecha Strike to check their reflexes, and then they dived into the online battle tournaments. Marinette tried her best to not glance sideways at her battle partner, who always stuck his tongue out when he got super focused, but she hadn’t had a good chance to watch him during Nino’s birthday. Now that they were working together, watching each other’s backs, she could safely look away for a brief second.

He was still really cute. Especially when he snarled when the opponent tricked him, and when he nibbled his lip nervously, but Marinette was relieved to find that...she wasn’t as nervous as she thought she would be. She took another deep breath before focusing on the match. Unlike Adrien, she remained composed and calm as she swept the battlefield. 

“Still as amazing as ever,” Adrien chuckled, grabbing for another croissant. He took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. “I swear I’m only holding you back.”

Marinette laughed awkwardly. “I’ve told you before, I’m just lucky.”   


“Yeah, but you gave  _ me  _ the charm.” And he shifted in his seat, put his hand in his pocket, and pulled out the familiar dangle of beads. Marinette stared, shocked.

“You… You still  _ have  _ it?!”

“Of course! It’s actually lucky, y’know.” He smiled fondly and winked before putting it away. “I’ve won fencing tournaments with it. I swear I do better on tests.  _ And  _ I got saved by Ladybug!”

Marinette turned pink, and not just at the mention of her superhero persona. He actually thought so highly of her, huh? Her hand drifted to her purse, where the replacement charm he had made for her sat safe and sound. He could’ve bought anything - afforded any present - yet he had taken the time to make something by hand for her.

Her chest didn’t ache so bad when she remembered that he was in love with some other girl, but the pang was still there.

“I’m glad it’s working for you,” she said shyly, starting up another match. “If it ever runs out, lemme know. I’ll make you a new one.”

Adrien chuckled next to her, shifting his controller between his hands as they waited to be paired up with a different duo. “It seems to be working wonderfully for now.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I went on a date Saturday.”

The air between them suddenly chilled, and Adrien stiffened. His face contorted with pain, and Marinette ignored the sudden tightness in her chest. She forced herself to take slow, even breaths.

“Y-Yeah? How’d that go?” She asked, polite but quiet. Adrien swallowed.

“It… It went great.”

Marinette sighed reluctantly. “You… You can talk about her, y’know. You don’t...seem to talk about her much. Not even Nino knew. I don’t mind, I just… I just want to be here for you.”

Adrien was biting his lip again, anxious. The game connected, and the match started. Yet as their fighters darted around the screen, he started talking, his voice wistful and longing, lovelorn and praising.

“She’s magnificent,” he started. “Smart, kind, and graceful. She’s confident and bold, one of the bravest people I know.” He slipped on his next combo, and they both flinched as their opponent took advantage of the mistake to take out a huge chunk of his health. “I wish I could be more like her.”

Marinette executed a revenge move on the fighter that had hit Adrien while he was down. “You’re those things too, y’know.” She said quietly. Adrien snorted in amusement. 

“Not brave enough to tell her how much I love her.”

She was so rattled by his words, that the opposing fighter kicked hers off the screen. Marinette rushed to try and get back into control, but it was too late. With the recent patch update, she couldn’t execute the right order of combos she normally would’ve in this situation, and so, she was the first fighter down. She set her controller down with a grumble as Adrien desperately tried to fight off two attackers.

“Why don’t you?” Marinette asked instead, distracting herself from the loss.

Adrien shook his head. “She knows that I love her. That I’ll always be there for her. But… I don’t think she understands the  _ depth. _ Crap.” He set his own controller down in defeat as his own fighter was flung offscreen. “Bad luck on that round, huh?”

Hesitantly, she nodded. “Sorry, I got distracted.”

“It’s no big deal. You win some, you lose some.”

They turned to face each other, Marinette’s eyes still questioning and Adrien’s face still languishing in his love for another girl.

“How… How deep?” Marinette asked, nervous. Adrien blinked, blushed, and picked his controller back up to fiddle with the buttons. Since he was player two, they had no effect on the menu screen.

“I…” He started, hesitant. “Are you sure this is okay?” Adrien worriedly asked instead. “For you, I mean?”

Marinette nodded firmly. “It’s difficult, I won’t lie.” Adrien flinched. “But...it’s better to talk, I think. And you seem to really care about her.”

Adrien laughed. “I do. I just… I want her to watch me  _ dissolve  _ in her love. Some days it feels like I’m drowning in it, unable to stay afloat, but on others…it’s like I’m soaring. Those moments make everything else worth it.”

The expression on his face spoke just as much as his words: Adrien was yearning for this girl, and he wanted her so badly he was willing to wait forever and a day. Marinette briefly wondered if this was how Chat felt, and the thought sent her head spinning. Or maybe it was the pain of hearing Adrien talk so sweetly about another girl. 

Yet he seemed genuinely happy to talk about her as they started up matches again. He went on to describe her in great length - but never any true details, Marinette realised later on, when she tried to recall if Adrien had ever mentioned the colour of the girl’s hair or eyes. He waxed poetry and sighed at the end of every verse, and he lamented about not being able to buy her anything expensive because he didn’t want to flaunt his wealth to her. He rambled on about how they saw a movie in the park together, and how she had had fun on their date last weekend. Somewhere in the middle of his speeches, Marinette decided that things were  _ okay. _ As long as he was happy, what did her emotions matter? She could be happy if Adrien was happy.

“Why don’t you ask her out on a proper date, then?” Marinette encouraged once Adrien had reached a lull in his spiel and their match wrapped up in another win. He blushed brightly.

“I… Maybe. I don’t know if  _ she’s  _ ready for that. I don’t want to push her.”

“I understand,” Marinette smiled. Chat was reluctant to push her towards a decision as well, and she appreciated the space he had given her. Adrien must’ve sensed that she was thinking about the cat, because he suddenly asked her a personal question of his own.

“What about that boy you went to the movie with?” He kept his voice just above a whisper, as if he was hoping to not scare her. Marinette hummed and tapped her chin with a finger, but she was blushing. 

“He’s...sweet,” she stated simply. “He’s always been upfront about his feelings for me, but he was respectful because...well…” She gestured uselessly at Adrien, who winced. “He’s really silly, but he’s brave and generous and loyal to a fault. He acts self-absorbed, but I suspect he’s really insecure and anxious underneath.” Marinette chuckled and shifted in her chair. “But...maybe I’ll give him a chance. He… He’d deserve it.”

“Go for it,” Adrien encouraged her. “What could go wrong?”

Marinette shook her head. “If I lost his friendship because...because we couldn’t make it work…”

“We kept our friendship, didn’t we?” Adrien awkwardly added. Marinette looked to the side. 

“But...you and I… We weren’t intimate or anything…” She swore her face was pink again!

“True,” Adrien agreed. “But that’s a testament to you, Marinette. To your resolve and your friendliness. You didn’t  _ have  _ to stay friends with me. I… I can’t imagine it’s easy…”

She shifted uneasily. “You’re right,” Marinette mumbled. She remembered when he had first approached her after her confession, how selfish he had seemed, how she had immediately forgiven him for wanting to hold onto his friends. “I didn’t have to stay friends with you…”

And when Adrien’s face broke into a panic, and he was pouting so cutely, Marinette chuckled. “But I wanted to.”

He sighed in relief, clutching his chest. He smiled at her, bright and full, and Marinette knew that, several months ago, she would’ve dissolved in her own pool of love.

Yet his grin soon turned mischievous, and Adrien sat up in his chair as he clutched his controller tighter. “You know what I want to do?” He asked, side-eyeing her as his smirk grew ever wider. Marinette narrowed her eyes at him, her fingers itching to pick up her controller again.

“What?” She asked.

“Get my revenge on you for kicking my butt at Nino’s party. Now it’s your turn!” And he pointed his controller at her while laughing evilly, and Marinette proudly snatched up her own controller and switched it to the main menu.

“Oh, you’re on, _ bouton d’or! _ If you think you can finally beat me, you’ve got another thing coming!”

“If I win even a  _ single  _ match, you’ve got to tell me the reason why all the girls call me ‘Buttercup.’” Adrien watched as she flicked over to the fighter select screen, and he picked out his usual black cat.

And she, her ladybug. 

“Alright,” Marinette relented, but her expression shifted into her game face as she steeled her shoulders. “But you’re never gonna find out!”

Adrien laughed as he leaned forward, determined to win at least one match against her.


	14. Do I Wanna Know?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien feels like he's drowning, and Ladybug's the only one who can provide him enough air to keep breathing. But Marinette has been helping, and so, he decides to take the next step forward: An Actual Date with his Lady!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate that I wrote time so weird in this story, it's been such a pain to keep track of! 
> 
> Runs from Tuesday, March 28th (the video game meeting) to Friday, April 14th. The akuma attack in the chapter happens on the evening of Saturday, April 8th.

He was unable to win against Marinette in any of the four matches they played before his phone rang. Adrien took one look at the screen, sighed, and put down his controller before standing up. Marinette stood with him, the pause menu taunting them both.

“You have to go?” She asked, and Adrien nodded.

“I’ll walk you out.”

“Thank you.”

Marinette led him through the trapdoor and down the stairs, and she made sure to lock the front door behind them before they descended the staircase to the flat entrance. Through the window, Adrien could see the silver car pulled up to the pavement, waiting impatiently for him to come outside. Something ugly twisted in his gut, but he pushed it aside. Instead, he turned to Marinette.

“Thank you for inviting me today,” he said. “I mean it. That was the most fun I’ve had...”

Adrien hesitated. Chat Noir would’ve said, _since Saturday._ But he was just Adrien…

“...in a while.” He finished lamely. Marinette smiled up at him, and Adrien felt that ugly, twisted thing unclench.

“You’re welcome to come over anytime.” He noticed that she looked a little pink as she extended her offer. Adrien smiled, touched by her consideration.

“Even in the middle of the night?” He jested. Marinette wrinkled her nose.

“Only if I’m actually _awake_ _._ Girl’s gotta get her beauty sleep in, y’know!”

He laughed, she laughed, and they said their goodbyes with a quick hug. He waved at her as he approached the car, and Adrien had to force himself to look away so he could open the door. He took a deep breath as he buckled himself in, resigned to going back to that empty house that was his home.

Maybe… Maybe he should’ve at least _tried_ with Marinette…

* * *

The next morning, when Adrien walked into class, Alya was showing off her phone to Nino, Rose, Lila, and Nathanael. At first, he figured it was the akuma attack from yesterday - another early riser, yet not too troublesome - but his assumption changed when Lila spoke up.

“I told you already, they’re _dating_ _._ This was just another date night!”

He peered over Nino’s shoulder, who glanced back at him and smiled with a thumbs up. Adrien shakily returned the gesture, but his eyes were drawn to the phone in Alya’s hands. Across the glass, he could see himself - well, Chat Noir - dancing for Ladybug, showing off all he had for her, expressing all of his emotion and adoration for her, in a moment of passion that Adrien had thought was _private._

“Chat Noir has got some _moves,"_ Nino complimented, and Rose giggled.

“Ladybug’s pretty impressive herself.”

“L-Ladybug?”

They all turned around as Marinette walked through the door, wearily eyeing the small crowd gathered around her desk. She walked to the other side and set her bag down, her gaze shifting to Alya and her phone.

“Yeah, girl, come look!”

Alya turned her phone away from Adrien, and he walked around Rose and Nathanael to watch her scrub the feed backwards. And, sure enough, there was Ladybug, tapping her finger to the beat, twirling her body around as her hips swayed. Adrien remembered this moment; he knew the song now, had played it on repeat over and over again just the other night, simply because he knew his Lady enjoyed it and he wanted to memorise it. Wanted to memorise _that_ moment, which was now cheapened by…

He took a deep breath. He unclenched his fists. Adrien tried to calm down.

To distract himself, he watched Marinette watch the video instead. Her eyes were wide and her face was pale as she observed first Ladybug, then Chat Noir, dance to the music that could barely be heard through the phone’s speaker. Thankfully, their conversation was inaudible to the recorder, who was zoomed in all the way just to catch as much footage as they could. Alya paused the video when Marinette’s expression grew more worried.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Alya asked, and Marinette’s eyes flickered from her best friend, to Lila, to Adrien. 

“It’s just…” She started, and Adrien knew what she wanted to say. Yet Marinette was hesitating because of Lila.

“Was this really something okay to film, Alya?” He asked quietly, laying a hand on the back of her chair to subtly grab her attention. She turned around to face him with a frown, and Adrien pulled his hand away. “They’re obviously having a private moment. Shouldn’t that have been left between them?” 

“It’s user-submitted,” Alya explained. “It’s already been posted.”

Both Adrien and Marinette flinched.

“They’re both famous, aren’t they?” Lila added. “Surely they should know that whatever they do, wherever they are, they’ll be the focus of attention. I’m sure it’s fine, Alya!” 

“It’s really not,” Marinette grumbled. “Famous people are allowed privacy too. Right, Adrien?” 

Adrien blinked, but he nodded quickly once he got her gist. “I wouldn’t want every moment I spent with my friends posted on the internet.”

“And that’s what they’re doing,” Marinette pointed out, leaning back in her seat. “Being friends. Doing friend things. Hanging out like normal Parisian teenagers.”

“I dunno about that,” Nathanael spoke up. “Dancing? That’s a very... _couples’_ thing.”

Rose nodded eagerly beside him. “Very sweet and romantic of Chat Noir to bring his Lady to a rooftop garden!”

Both Marinette and Adrien flinched again, and he couldn’t help but wonder why. He hadn’t meant for the gesture to seem romantic, although it certainly could be read that way. It had only been a way for them to bond as friends and as partners.

Their teacher came in and clapped her hands, bringing the class’ attention to the front. Adrien quickly scrambled into his seat next to Nino and dug out last night’s homework. 

Yet it didn’t stop him from thinking about the implications of that video of them now immortalised on the internet. 

* * *

Over the next two weeks, they started hanging out more and more. Actual patrols were dwindled to nothing and eventually cancelled - akuma attacks were too unpredictable, and they agreed that they needed the extra time to catch up in real life matters. On the other hand, their hangouts gradually increased. They became the highlights of Adrien’s week, little blips of excitement and thrill in the otherwise dull monotony of his life. After his first dance with Ladybug, he’d been absolutely head over heels in love with her, but he kept his emotions wrapped and hidden, afraid to further acknowledge them after pouring his heart out to Marinette.

And Marinette! He couldn’t deny that spending time with her was nearly as wonderful as spending time with Ladybug. Their meetings were much less frequent, limited to a class project and another round of video games, but Adrien was happy to have her friendship again. This time, he was going to cherish it.

An akuma interrupted their third Saturday movie night.

“Y’know!” Chat shouted over the sound of the akuma’s weapon firing round, pink bullets. “That park in the fifth arrondissement has Friday showings now!” 

Ladybug laughed as she ran past him, gathering items as she went. “Are you saying we need to switch it up?”

“I think Papillon is catching on!”

He batted away another bullet, holding his ground as his stick shook from the impact. Chat hit several more, trying to direct them back towards the akuma, but she nimbly dodged each projectile and continued to shoot.

“Did you want to buy them or should I?” Ladybug landed next to him, holding a weird contraption that he wasn’t sure would work, but he trusted that it would. A long length of red and black spotted cord was wrapped around the pieces.

“I did buy tonight’s tickets, but we’re missing our movie.” Chat pouted, absently hitting back another bullet. This one, however, exploded into a cloud of glitter that caused him to cough and sneeze. 

“Give me your miraculous, Chat Noir!” The akuma cried, and Chat rolled his eyes despite the sting.

Only to then find himself reaching for his ring hand, claws lightly gripping the black ring with the green paw print, and Ladybug squeaked in surprise as she finally fired off her contraption. _Something_ shot out of it, knocked the weapon from the akuma’s hand, and Ladybug snagged it with her yo-yo. 

“Chat!”  
  
Freaking out as he tried to prevent himself from taking off his miraculous, he cried out a desperate, _“Cataclysm!”_ as Ladybug reeled her yo-yo back. He reached up to catch the weapon with the hand that wasn’t gripping his ring, and Chat sighed with relief when the impulse to obey faded with the release of a purple, fluttering butterfly. His hands dropped; his ring was safe.

“The weather is getting warmer,” Ladybug commented as she caught the akuma before it could fly away. She picked up her Lucky Charm while walking back towards him. “Plenty of parks are showing movies now.”

“Yeah, but Friday works best for me if we can’t do Saturdays anymore.” 

She tossed her charm into the air, and her magic swept over Paris. A bright smile bloomed like a spring flower across Chat’s face, and Ladybug watched him with a fond expression.

It was expressions like these that made him seriously wonder if Ladybug reciprocated his feelings. 

Over time, he thought he had been picking up on subtle clues in how she was behaving. He had never seen her blush so much before, and sometimes, Chat even caught her staring at him. She had long since stopped redirecting his flirting, even grudgingly putting up with ‘Buginette’ with nothing more than a roll of her eyes, and she wouldn’t push him away when he touched her. He always kept his contact brief: Chat didn’t want to push his luck, not when he might have a real chance with her. He still highly respected his Lady, and she had always made her boundaries clear in the past.

“I can buy them,” Ladybug said. “I don’t mind. Maybe we can turn your tickets back in and they can give us a refund?”

Chat contemplated her suggestion, one hand on his chin and the other holding up his elbow. “I wouldn’t want to take advantage of being a superhero for something so small.”

She raised an eyebrow at him as her earrings beeped. “Oh? Like you didn’t just accept a free pastry from that cart vendor last time?” 

He grinned, wide and sheepish, at her accusation. “I _did_ offer to pay! And it smelled so good!”

Her laughter rang through his head well into the next day, and the day after that. It kept him going, moving, working - until he would get an opportunity to see her again. But…

Adrien was conflicted. He was well aware that he had been previously trying to move on from Ladybug; that he should step forward and take the plunge with someone else. Both Marinette and Kagami were amazing, wonderful young women who he _knew_ he would enjoy dating or even attempting a relationship with. Running through scenarios, ideas, gifts, and poetry made him tingle and smile. But his love for Ladybug had always been so consuming, so passionate, that the idea of being in a _normal_ relationship with a different, _normal_ girl felt...wrong.

And although Adrien had tried to take small steps towards moving on, it was just too easy to fall back into old habits. 

He didn’t know what to do.

But he couldn’t stop himself from listening to that one song she loved, the one that had made her let go of her worries and dance _for_ him rather than _with_ him. Every night, Adrien found himself playing it over and over, playing it through his headphones and revisiting his memories: her, elegant and passionate; her dancing, smooth and fluid; all wrapped together by the vibration of the floor, the dim lighting of the garden, and the chill of the night air. And he would listen until he either fell asleep or Plagg told him to get to bed, whichever came first, and he would dream of her with his heart aching in his chest. 

Two days after that first dance, Adrien admitted to himself that he was obsessed.

Five days afterwards, Adrien found himself playing through multiple scenarios of him confessing his love to her, over and over, trying to find the right combination of words to woo her. Nothing ever felt right or genuine. What words could properly encapsulate the depth of his emotions?

A fortnight, and he was beginning to wonder if this was _healthy._

But she was Ladybug! And he was Chat Noir! Of course, his love looked crazy through the lens of any civilian, but he was her superhero partner, her equal in battle. They were a pair, a duet, chosen to be together. It was only natural, right?

Right.

She bought the movie tickets for a Friday showing, and she informed him after their next akuma battle.

“What if we met up a little earlier?” Chat asked hopefully. She tilted her head in curiosity, listening intently. “Y’know, grab some ice cream before the show, stake out the park, things like that.”

Ladybug smiled and his heart swelled. “I’d like that, Chat.”

“G-Great! Uhm, we can meet at six, six-thirty?” 

“Is that not too early for you?”

“Not really,” he said quickly. He’d have to swing an excuse with Nathalie again, but it wasn’t like the lie was hard anymore. His piano skills were slipping further and further away from him, and Chat knew he should put some time in as Adrien to polish up, but he couldn’t find it within himself to care.

“Then let’s meet at six-thirty,” Ladybug replied, touching her ears as one of her earrings beeped. “See you then, _mon chaton!_ Bug out!”

He waved after her, watching her go, before he left for home himself.

* * *

“Where do you think he could be?”

They were perched together on top of a tall flat building, looking out over several small squares, glancing every which way for André and his ice cream cart. They both had had the man’s ice cream before, but they had never really gone together. Chat was thrilled, but finding the vendor was always tricky.

To make the challenge harder on themselves, since they had the advantage of speed and height, Ladybug had suggested not looking at André’s usual internet clues.

“Did you check the Pont des Arts?” Ladybug asked him. “I’ve seen him there several times now.”

“I did,” Chat replied, looking out towards the Seine and the bridges that crisscrossed it. “I didn’t see him, but we can check again. Sometimes he moves.”

“Yeah, but not this late in the day,” Ladybug remarked with a sigh. She moved away from the edge of the building and towards the other side, looking out over the city as the sun set behind her. Chat watched her out of the corner of his eye, trying to not get caught up in how her dark hair gleamed in the orange glow of the fading light.

“Do you often get ice cream from André?” Chat asked, casually. She hummed, hesitating to share details about her personal life.

“I go with friends a lot,” she admitted. “My first time...was a little embarrassing. Everyone came as a couple - _except_ for me.” She looked down at her feet, frowning. Chat felt his expression fall flat. 

“You invited that boy,” he said, his voice low. He tried to keep the bitterness out, but he wasn’t sure if he succeeded. Ladybug grinned, but the edges were laced with pain. Was she still not over him? Even after all this time?

Then again, he wasn’t yet over her. Chat couldn’t blame her.

“We did. He couldn’t make it.”

Chat hummed, turning his head away. Ladybug sighed and walked back to him, standing next to him.

“I took out my disappointment on someone I shouldn’t have,” Ladybug said quietly, their eyes still roaming over the streets and parks as they looked for André. “They were akumatised because I couldn’t keep my emotions in check.”

“You shouldn’t blame yourself for things like that,” Chat answered sadly, finally taking his eyes off the city to properly look at her instead. Her stance was melancholy, but her feet were shuffling and her eyes were narrowing. 

“I know but... “ Ladybug trailed off. Her head turned towards the setting sun, looking straight at Chat. “I’m Ladybug. I should’ve known better.”

“You’re allowed to be upset, Milady. It’d be ridiculous of anyone to expect you to always be happy.” Chat was desperately trying to appeal to her, to make her understand that the city didn’t always have to sit on her shoulders, but she only shrugged the weight off and moved past him, looking into the distance as she searched for ice cream - or something else entirely.

“I know that too, but…” Her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward. “Is that him over there? On Debilly?”

Chat came up beside her, squinting into the setting sun. He could just make out the small crowd of people, and what looked like a small cart, way off in the distance on the tiny footbridge that connected the banks of the river.

“I think so!” He admitted, stepping backwards and unhooking his stick from his back. It lengthened in his fingers as he darted forward, vaulting out over the city as she laughed, following close behind him.

Ladybug ended up beating him there, but Chat didn’t mind. They approached the cart slowly, grinning and laughing, waiting for the current couple to receive their cone and walk off before greeting André with a happy wave.

“Ladybug!” The ice cream man called, practically bouncing in place. “And Chat Noir! Shall I get you the usual?”

They both glanced at each other, confused, before looking back at the man behind the cart. He winked at them, but Chat could see that Ladybug looked uneasy all of a sudden. Chat took a deep breath before taking a step forward with a lazy smirk, trying to come across as more confident than he actually felt.

“Of course, André. I’ll pay for the lovely Lady and myself, so please - whatever she wants is fine.”

Ladybug raised an eyebrow beneath her mask as she approached them, and Chat reclined against the cart, turning his smirk in her direction. She giggled into her fingers as André put ice cream into cones. Her cheeks were flushed.

Chat tried not to think too hard about the flush on his own cheeks. Instead, he adamantly searched his suit for bills, but André waved him away. 

“Charging Parisian Superheroes for ice cream is not a habit I want to start,” he insisted. Chat frowned, his eyes narrowing. 

“It’s just a few euros,” Chat countered. “If you keep giving out free food, you’ll go out of business!” 

“Chat,” Ladybug quietly said beside him. He turned his attention back to her, and she reached forward and flicked the bell at his throat. He stilled in shock. “It’s just ice cream.”

She thanked André as he handed her her cone of peach and mint, and she went and stood against the railing of the bridge to look down at the Seine. Chat swallowed thickly and turned back to André to accept his own treat.

“Someone is in love,” the older man noted. The red and blue ice cream was so obviously her, that Chat hesitated to accept it.

“Yeah, I know,” Chat pouted, his ears going flat.

“I wasn’t talking about you.”

Chat looked back up, suddenly hopeful, but André was already addressing the next customers in line. While he was distracted, Chat slipped a five euro banknote onto the cart and hightailed it out of there before the man could notice or complain. Grinning, he rejoined his Lady by the bridge, and she greeted him with a smile more spectacular than the dancing colours of the sky. 

“May I have a bite of yours, Milady?” Chat inquired, tilting forward and trying to get a whiff of her ice cream, curious about its flavours, but she pushed him away by his nose. 

“Eat your own, Chat!” She said, giggling and scolding him in the same breath. 

“I’ll give you a taste of mine in exchange!” 

Her blue eyes, perfectly matched in the ice cream on his cone, stared at the treat in his hand. Some unknown emotion crossed her face - something curious, something sad, something pleased - and Chat looked down and shifted his feet, suddenly embarrassed.

“Alright.”

He looked up again, just in time to meet the small spoonful she presented him. Excited, he accepted the bite and then offered her one of his own. The mix of fresh, bright peach sherbert and cold, sharp mint cream exploded across his tongue, and he took a moment to savour the combination as she closed her own mouth over his spoon.

“Y’know,” she said, swallowing. “If I tasted like that, I’d probably love me too.”

He choked, but she laughed as she turned and walked away.

* * *

After they ate their ice cream, they scoped out the park and found the best place to watch the movie. It was some American romantic comedy, subtitled in French and cute in its own way. They didn’t need blankets anymore to ward off the nightly weather, but when it started to get cooler, Ladybug moved closer to Chat and he was more than happy to throw an arm around her shoulders.

To him, this felt like the perfect, romantic date - but he still wasn’t sure if he could call it one. To top it all off, when the movie ended and the crowds started to vacate the park, Ladybug stayed beside him, unmoving.

“I don’t want to go home,” she mumbled, her head resting on his shoulder.

“We could go for a run?” He asked, hopeful. She hummed before slowly sitting up straight and stretching.

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

They took to the rooftops almost lazily, and they made their way through Paris at a slow and measured pace. They’re not moving as fast as they would’ve during a patrol, and they’re laughing as they pass each other, but they’re making good time towards home.

Ladybug paused as they passed by the Louvre. Chat stopped beside her, and they both took their time admiring the dazzling glass pyramid, sparkling in the city lights, before she threw out her yo-yo again and pulled away, never speaking.

Chat followed her as she crossed over a small church, several buildings, and a tall fountain before she swung down and landed at the edge of a small park. He landed beside her, and Chat looked up at the tall tower at the centre. It was carved from old stone, gothic in style, and highly ornate. It had long, slim windows on all of its sides; statues were perched on all four corners at the top, like cold, impassive guardians. Now that the sun had set and the night had settled, the streets and park were quiet.

Ladybug glanced sideways at Chat, and he caught her eye.

“Race you to the top, LB!” He grinned.

Her eyes narrowed. “That’s _tour Saint-Jacques,_ Chat.”

“So?”

“It’s… I dunno, fragile.”

He gave her a look that showed all of his disappointment, before adding, “You’re just scared you’ll _lose.”_

_“What?!”_

But he was already pushing himself into a running start and leaping for the tower with his stick. Ladybug yelled after him, but he chuckled when he heard the whirling of her yo-yo.

He could never win against her. Even with a stunning head start, she was still faster. Perhaps she was more clever about where to swing her yo-yo, or she just got more momentum than he did. Either way, Chat met her at the top with a wide and cheeky grin, and she pouted at him.

“You win again, Buginette.” He sighed dramatically. “I can never hope to be as great a flyer as you!”

“I nearly broke a _statue_ on the way up here!” She scolded. “If I broke a five-hundred-year-old monument, ooohh, Paris would have my head!” Ladybug held her face in mortification while Chat stared and then laughed. 

“You’ve literally chopped the Eiffel Tower in half before,” he reminded her politely, moving to stand beside her as she shook her head. 

“But there was an akuma, I could fix it! I can’t fix a lopsided gargoyle!” 

He snickered, and she hit his arm. “Don’t laugh, Chat! It’s not funny!”

“You’re right, it’s not. But the face you’re making is.”

He could only smirk wider as she flushed harder. She lifted a hand to smack at his arm again, and he instantly moved to dodge it. He caught the glint in her eye - the one that meant she was ready to rise to the challenge - and she chased him around the top of the stone tower, both of them laughing and catcalling and teasing.

“Chat _Noir!_ Get your tail back here!”

“You’ll have to catch me first, Bug!”

But instead of her catching him, Chat caught her around the middle and lifted her up. She squealed, still laughing, as he tickled her sides until she was breathless and red, her feet kicking in the air.

“Stop, stop!” She called, panting. Instantly, Chat pulled his hands back and stepped away, lifting them in surrounder. Ladybug bent over, hands on her knees, doing her best to catch her breath. 

By the time he had realised he had let his guard down, it was too late. She pounced on him, tickling his ribs, and Chat howled and giggled, trying to roll away. 

“M-Milady!! Aaahah, no!” He tried to squirm away from her, but she was surprisingly strong and he couldn’t. Chat vaguely wondered how he could feel her fingers through the suit, despite hits from an akuma feeling like nothing more than a tap, when he finally gave in. 

“Mercy, mercy!! Pl-Please, Milady!”  
  
“Chicken!” She playfully called him, backing off and sticking out her tongue. He copied her, and together, they broke down into more laughter and giggle fits. Chat found her all the more adorable when she snorted.

They sat leaning against each other, breathless and happy, as their voices slowly died and their chests heaved.

“I love you,” Chat whispered, so caught up in the moment that he barely registered _why_ this was the wrong thing to blurt out so suddenly. The realisation snapped into place when she stiffened. _“_ _Crap_ _,_ Ladybug, I mean-”

“I...love you too,” she replied softly, awkwardly. He blinked, confused. 

“But not the same way,” he said, dragging out each word as if he was pulling a weight behind him. In a way, he was: his love for her was a weight so heavy, he could hardly bear the load.

“I...”

They turned to look at each other, their faces close, and all the lights of Paris were reflected in her bright, blue eyes. Did he want to know if these feelings flowed both ways? Ladybug looked so lost, so confused, and Chat didn’t want to push her for an answer, but he could feel his heart beating in his ears, feel her breath dance across his face, and all he wanted to do…

He moved his head a little closer and she didn’t back away. Both of them seemed to be searching each other’s face for an answer, a reply, but Chat found nothing that said, ‘No’ - and he knew that every ounce of him was screaming, _‘Yes!’_

Slowly, not wanting to scare her away, Chat reached up and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, mindful of his claws and her earrings. She didn’t flinch away from the action - instead, to his surprise, Ladybug pressed her cheek into his hand and her eyes fluttered closed. His hand lingered there, and Chat wished he could feel her bare skin.

He swallowed, his mouth dry. “May I?”

Her eyes opened. Her stare felt like it could’ve pierced his very soul, but Chat held her gaze for as long as he could, refusing to blink as she tried to read him. He knew he was shaking - he could feel his knees wobbling - and he was trying to hold his hands as steady as he could. He was sure she could feel how nervous he was. 

Her lips parted. He stopped breathing.

“You may.”

Euphoria rushed through him, and he leaned in and kissed her.


	15. Diamond Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He swallowed, his mouth dry. “May I?”  
> Her lips parted. He stopped breathing.  
> “You may.”  
> Euphoria rushed through him, and he leaned in and kissed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry. That's all I'll say.
> 
> Runs from Friday, April 14th to Wednesday, April 19th.

Ladybug’s eyes fluttered closed again as his lips brushed over hers. She returned the kiss, tilting her head a little more, while Chat’s hand was still trembling against her cheek. It remained innocent, just lips to lips, both of them too nervous and too inexperienced to ask for more. They pulled apart, blinked at each other with stunned expressions, and Chat leaned in to kiss her again. Ladybug could feel the smile on his face this time, and she giggled into him before returning it. 

This was exactly like what she imagined her first kiss with Adrien would’ve been like…

And as Adrien’s face flashed through her mind, Ladybug couldn’t stop the torrent of images: She was kissing Adrien, it was Adrien’s hand against her cheek, Adrien’s smile against her mouth, _Adrien_ …

She tore herself away from Chat Noir.

“...Milady?” He asked, surprised as Ladybug stood and took several awkward steps backwards, out of his arms and towards the edge of the tower.

“ _I’m sorry_ ,” she choked out. “I’m so sorry.” 

The sudden wave of guilt was eating her alive, boiling in her stomach and clawing at her chest. It felt like it was going to consume her. How _dare_ she kiss Chat Noir when she wasn’t yet over Adrien; using him as a rebound was _unacceptable!_ And as tears started to fall down her mask, leaving streaks across her cheeks, Ladybug unhooked her yo-yo and tried to find the fastest way down.

“Wh-What! Ladybug, _wait!”_ Chat cried, darting forwards to try and grab her wrist. Ladybug nimbly dodged his attempt, shaking her head frantically. 

“No!” She barked. Chat stopped, stunned. “I… I shouldn’t have done that, Chat. I don’t want to _hurt_ you.” 

“You didn’t,” Chat pleaded. “I love you. I’d do anything for you.”

“I can’t s-stay.” She flung out her yo-yo towards the nearest building, her voice shaking as hard as her hands.

“Please,” Chat begged, his words catching in his throat. Ladybug flinched as he took another step forward. “Stay. Let’s _talk_ about this!”

“I… I can’t, _mon chaton,”_ Ladybug whispered. “I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Ladybug, please!”

And just as Chat tried to grab her wrist again, to force her to stay and sort this all out, she launched herself off the top of the tower and across Paris. Although she was plenty faster than him, Chat Noir did not pursue her. 

Some part of her wished that he had. 

* * *

Marinette thought about her mistake for the rest of the weekend, as she juggled homework and hobbies. She threw herself into design and sewing, video games and cards with her parents, and on Saturday evening, a video call with Adrien to discuss the remaining details on their school project. Marinette took one look at him once he picked up, and she leaned back.

“Oh my gosh,” she whispered. “You look like death.”

Green eyes blinked owlishly at her from the other side of the screen, and Adrien broke into strained laughter. He rubbed his eyes, groaning, and dragged his hands over his cheeks, leaving pale imprints that slowly faded back into pink. 

“Ugh, you can tell?” Adrien grumbled. “Even over the phone? I had such a long day; I’m beat!” He flopped backwards in his desk chair, and it spun lazily from side to side. Marinette watched him in amusement. “We had a fencing tournament today, right? Kagami and I?”

“Yeah, how’d it go?” Marinette asked, pushing aside the binder that held their project in favour of focusing on him. She hadn’t heard much from Kagami lately.

“It went well. We both placed. But Father _insisted,”_ and Adrien spat the word, scowling as he spoke. “That I squeeze in a photoshoot beforehand. Nathalie woke me up before even the sun was up!”

“That’s terrible!” She cried, leaning a little closer to her phone. Adrien leaned in too.

“It really was. I’m so ready to get back to bed.”

“Do you want me to work on the rest of the project? We can meet up Monday after class and-”

Adrien was already shaking his head, his blond hair ruffling. “No, I want to help.”

“I don’t want you to push yourself,” Marinette insisted, absently opening the binder and pulling out a few papers. “It’s just putting everything together at this point, it’d be easier for me to handle it on my own-”

“But then we wouldn’t be a team.” And Adrien’s smile _still_ melted her heart, and Marinette had to bite her lip as she examined his soft look and kind words and not read into them.

 _What am I doing?_ She thought to herself, giving in and allowing Adrien to help her set up their presentation slides. She had kissed Chat Noir not just twenty-four hours ago, and here she was, wondering if Adrien was developing feelings of his own for her. Their conversation from weeks back still felt fresh in her mind, but Marinette had promised that she wouldn’t get her hopes up.

And she wasn’t going to.

Sometime after Adrien and she said their goodnights, and Marinette was left alone to scribble out more sketches and details in her sketchbook, her phone pinged with a message from a friend she hadn’t seen in a very long time.

Meeting with Kagami for a lunch date was perhaps not the smartest idea Marinette had ever had, but since the fencer had reached out to her first, she decided to follow through with it. They had hung out before, of course, but their interactions were rare and often strained by their shared interest in a particular boy - yet they had long refused to let that come between them.

And so, on Sunday at around noon, Marinette found herself wandering the roads of Paris, wondering if she was lost or if she should try calling Kagami for directions. Yet the numbers and names were matching up with what her map app had told her, so she kept walking.

After double-checking her phone again for the address and name of the shop that had they agreed to meet at, Marinette examined the street. It was a quaint area of town, but she didn’t see many tourists thankfully. She pocketed her phone into her purse, being mindful of Tikki on the inside, and spotted the shop on the corner. Kagami was already sitting outside, and she waved to Marinette the second they spotted each other.

Excited, she jogged the remaining meters to the table.

“So sorry that I’m late, Kagami! I got held up!”

“Your tardiness is always to be expected,” yet there was a smile on Kagami’s face that told Marinette she was forgiven. She pulled out the chair nearest to her, sat down, and picked up the drink Kagami must’ve already ordered for her. Her first sip revealed a lovely yet tart citrus flavour; like grapefruit, but sweetened.

“You said you wanted to try that one last time. I hope it was okay that I ordered for you.”

“Yeah, that’s fine! I’m surprised you remembered. I don’t think I would’ve!”

They shared a brief laugh, and for a while, they chatted and caught up with each other. An employee came outside to check up on them, and Marinette ordered a small appetizer for them to share - since Kagami had already picked out their drinks, she figured it was only fair. As they waited, they talked about class, Kagami’s fencing club, Marinette’s class representative duties, and ultimately-

“I noticed Adrien has been happier lately,” Kagami noted. Marinette paused in bringing her drink to her lips again. Slowly, she set it back down on the table. 

She looked sad. Kagami was often stoic and hid her emotions behind a wall, but for a moment, she looked vulnerable. Something didn’t click right.

“Yeah,” Marinette agreed. “He looked tired last night, but he did tell me he was uh, seeing someone.”

It hurt her to say those words aloud, to confirm that her crush was actively pursuing another relationship, but Marinette had always thought that that relationship was with _Kagami._ So why did she look so down?

“He said the same to me when I asked him out to a romantic event yesterday, after our competition.”

It felt like Marinette’s world had shattered. She stared at Kagami, her expression probably one of intense shock, because her friend was giving her the oddest of looks. 

“He’s not…” Kagami struggled over the right word until she chose to borrow Marinette’s phrase. “...seeing you?”  
  
“No,” Marinette shook her head, forcing her features to relax. “I tried to confess back in February, but he told me he was in love with someone else. I always thought that was _you.”_

They both sat and pondered over this revelation for a moment, mentally running through all the people in Adrien’s life that he could possibly be ‘seeing.’ In an attempt to protect her heart, Marinette had never thought too deeply about the girl Adrien must’ve been in love with, even though he was capable of waxing poetry about her for hours on end. Yet with Kagami here, confirming that she was not Adrien’s crush, Marinette was suddenly curious.

“His dad wouldn’t approve of just anyone-”

“He always has such a tightly packed schedule too-”

“Maybe there is a model he works with-”

“I don’t think it’d be Lila or Chloé, they’d be _gloating-”_

They glanced at each other, laughed, and all of the tension disappeared.

“Let’s agree to not talk about Adrien for the rest of the day!” Marinette said through her giggles. Kagami nodded eagerly; they were not here to lament over a boy, even if the topic was of high interest to both of them.

“Let’s agree to not talk about _any_ boys. Especially in a romantic context,” Kagami replied with a slight smirk. Marinette was all too ready to agree.

“Deal!”

And so, their conversation descended into a swamp of stories. Over time, they finished off their drinks, got refills, ate their appetizer, and paid for everything, but they still chatted. There was an ease of talking with Kagami about smaller aspects of her life that wasn’t present with Alya, because Kagami understood some of the subtle details that Marinette didn’t have to explain.

“So, when I was in elementary school, I wanted to bring over a friend,” Marinette was saying. “This was the _first_ time I had ever brought a friend home, and once all the parental approval was in place, I didn’t even _think_ about telling her the first house rule.” Kagami was listening with rapt attention, nodding and agreeing along to Marinette’s hurried story.  
  
“I had just never considered before that it was, y’know, _not_ normal? So when she came over, and we walked through the door straight into the kitchen, _maman_ just _freaked out!_ She practically screamed at her! I’d never seen _maman_ so angry before, and I started panicking too, so I rushed my friend back into the hallway and for a bit I couldn’t figure out _why_ my mother was so upset.”

Kagami reached up and put a hand over her mouth, clearly trying to contain her laughter as Marinette’s grin grew bigger and bigger. “I can see where this is going,” she confessed. Marinette nodded eagerly. 

“I look her up and down, trying to reason out what had made _maman_ angry, and sure enough: She’s still wearing her shoes!” Kagami gasped in fake surprise, her brown eyes going wide. “And then, _I’m_ shocked because she wore _shoes_ into the house! When I ask her why she’s still wearing them, she gives me this look like _I’m_ the idiot, turns around, and walks down the stairs. She never spoke to me again, but she sure did spread the ‘Marinette’s crazy mum’ story around our class.” 

“That’s horrible!”

“Tell me about it! _Maman_ made me sweep the floor afterwards, but that was nothing once Chloé got a hold of the story,” Marinette grumbled out the last few words, and Kagami chuckled politely.

 _“Haha_ is very strict about tradition,” Kagami started, and Marinette’s eyes flickered up to her to listen intently. “But not everyone in the family feels the same way. My cousin was raised in Japan, but my aunt and uncle were not formal with his upbringing like my mother was with me. So when he came to Paris and visited us, he didn’t bring a gift.”

Marinette’s face instantly fell into an understanding frown. “Oh no…” She mumbled.

Kagami nodded. “My mother scolded him _thoroughly._ I had to bring him to the nearest Asian-style grocer and help him pick out a couple of melons and the nicest bottle of _osake._ Even then, she didn’t forgive him and was…” Here, Kagami paused.

Marinette tilted her head and waited.

 _“Salty,”_ Kagami decided, and Marinette howled in laughter. “The rest of the time he was here. She told me to stay away from him so his negative influence wouldn’t impact my behaviour or academics.”

“Ohhh goodness,” Marinette chuckled, wiping a stray tear from her eye as she tried to contain herself. “At least he took off his shoes, though?”  
  
Kagami laughed. “Yes,” she agreed. “At least he took off his shoes!”

They exchanged a few more stories, mostly in relation to their Asian grandparents: Marinette lamented that her Mandarin Chinese was too poor to communicate with her mother’s parents, and Kagami recounted times when her _sobo_ would scold her mother during sword practice. Just as they were promising to have lunch at a Japanese sushi bar sometime next month, Marinette’s phone _dinged!_ She flipped it over from its position on the table, noted the text message from her mother, and quickly stood up.

“I’m so sorry Kagami,” Marinette said, flustered. “My mum wanted me home by four so I could help out with a bakery order, I totally spaced!”

“It’s alright,” Kagami said with a smile, standing up as well as Marinette dug through her purse. She tried to pay her friend back for the drink, but Kagami shook her head. “My treat.”

“No, I can’t let you do that!” Marinette pouted. But then an idea clicked in her head.

 _“Unless…”_ She smirked. Kagami eyed her suspiciously. 

“Unless?”

“You come to dim sum with me sometime. After we do sushi, we have to try dim sum!”

Kagami looked vaguely uneasy. “I don’t know if my mother would...like that.” She seemed to consider her options for a moment, but her face broke into a wide grin that had Marinette smirking in triumph. “But I must try these ‘phoenix claws’ you rave about.”

Marinette laughed. “You’ll absolutely _love_ them! Or, well, you’ll probably hate them, but-”

Her phone dinged again, Marinette jumped and squawked in surprise, and she quickly moved away from the table and pushed her chair in.

“I’ll text you!” She said, waving as she hurried away. “Thank you, Kagami!”

“Goodbye, Marinette!”

She rushed home as quickly as she could, her feet pounding against the pavement, but Sabine Cheng still looked disappointed when her daughter finally crossed over the boulangerie threshold. Marinette offered up her apologies.

“I’m so sorry, _maman,_ Kagami and I just lost track of time and-”  
  
“That’s alright, Marinette.” She interrupted as she turned back to her work. “Just let me know next time, alright? All these akumas lately, I worry…”

And the fact that their daughter went missing during every akuma attack surely wasn’t lost on her parents, Marinette figured. Well, maybe it was lost on her father, but she had never been able to easily fool her _maman._ After promising that she would send a text message or call the next time she was running behind, Marinette washed her hands and started helping her parents in the bakery for the rest of the day. The hard work put her mind at some ease, but her thoughts were still racing around her head by that evening.

Marinette wouldn’t get a chance to sort through them.

It was as if her mother had predicted Sunday evening’s akuma attack. Nervous and annoyed, Ladybug swung her way to the scene of the incident, landing beside Chat Noir as he surveyed the damage. They glanced each other, and then glanced away.

The fight was purely professional and a far cry from their easy-going dynamic that usually flowed between them. Chat barely uttered a pun, and Ladybug flinched whenever he missed a window of opportunity. By the time L’Homme Poulet was defeated and deakumatised, Ladybug had thought of a dozen chicken-related puns and jokes that she would’ve enjoyed coming from her superhero partner.

Instead, she was wordlessly throwing her mallet-shaped Lucky Charm into the air, with Chat’s green gaze watching her every movement.

“We need to talk,” he whispered, his voice thick and pleading and full of desperation. Ladybug refused to look at him.

“Not… Not tonight,” she said, turning around. “We’re going to detransform soon, and we have school tomorrow. It’s not a good time.”

“Then _when?”_ Chat insisted, his words coming out more like a cat’s hiss than a human’s.

She hugged herself. If Ladybug was being honest, she needed time to sort through her emotions and her feelings - for both him _and_ Adrien. And she wasn’t going to get any answers from the maelstrom that was her swirling chaotic heart anytime soon. But Chat deserved answers to the questions he was desperately asking, and Ladybug had no right to deny him that. Not after she had kissed him.

“...Wednesday,” Ladybug croaked. “We’ll do a patrol.”

“Before or after we meet with Alya Césaire?” Chat asked, and Ladybug frowned. She had forgotten about that. When had she talked to him? Had she even talked to Alya about it, as Ladybug, beyond the Kitty Section concert? She couldn’t remember. 

Quickly, Ladybug ran through her memories. Yes, she had talked to Chat about meeting with Alya and finding Papillon during their last patrol. No, she had yet to get in contact with her friend. Her to-do list - as both Marinette and Ladybug - had been so long lately, and with the repeated akuma attacks and her boy troubles, she was finding it difficult to find a balance. 

So, she took a deep breath and tried to re-orientate herself and the situation.

“After,” Ladybug confirmed for him. “We’ll meet with Alya, get her the information she needs, and then we can...talk.”

“About what happened.” Chat said stubbornly. Ladybug nodded.

“Yes.”

“I’m…” Chat looked down and away, suddenly ashamed with himself. “I’m trusting you, LB.”

She couldn’t stop herself from flinching. She hoped that his trust in her was not misplaced. 

* * *

Her Monday started terrible. 

Akuma attack at six, with a just-as-disgruntled Chat Noir. Marinette was home in time to pick up her school bag, but she didn’t have enough time to eat breakfast, wash her hair, or double-check her bag. When she ran into class just as the last bell was ringing, Lila made a passive-aggressive comment about her tardiness. And when Mme Bustier started to collect the homework, Marinette found that she didn’t have it. 

Alya cautiously looked around, before leaning in. “What’s going on, girl? You’ve never forgotten an _assignment_ before.” 

“Stress,” Marinette mumbled. “I was up late last night and uh, early this morning. Is all.”

“The akumas?”

In front of her, Adrien tilted his head, as if turning an ear onto their conversation, and Marinette quickly tried to divert Alya’s attention. 

“No, no. Just uhh, sewing project. Schoolwork. That kind of thing! It’s no big deal, not really-”

“Hey.”

Both girls looked up as Adrien turned around in his seat. He looked as tired as Marinette felt - did he have another early photoshoot on Sunday? - and he was frowning in obvious concern. Nino hissed at him, but Adrien ignored his friend’s warning.

“You should’ve told me, I could’ve worked on-”

“Adrien, pay attention please!” Their teacher called from the front. Adrien grimaced, schooled his expression into something kinder, and rotated himself in his seat to face the front again.

“Sorry, Mme Bustier,” he said softly. “I was just trying to help Marinette with the notes.”

“We’ll have group discussions after the slides,” their teacher pointed out, but Marinette thought she caught a hint of disbelief in her voice.

The moment the slides were done, and the students were given free-range to converse about the content and answer discussion questions, Adrien turned his whole chair around so he could peer up at Marinette. She tried hard to not catch his eye, preferring to doodle mindlessly in her notes.

“You should’ve told me you were stressed on Saturday,” Adrien said lowly. “We didn’t have to keep working on the project. We could’ve met today.”

“We can still meet today,” Marinette pointed out. Alya and Nino watched them, their eyes travelling back and forth as their conversation played out. “And we’ll be further along! The faster we can get this project done, the faster we can…”

She trailed off. Adrien’s frown deepened.

“I understand,” he said, casting his gaze down. He took a deep breath, raised his eyes, and smiled at Alya.

“So, what do you think are the significances of the lead character’s pensive personality?”

And although the four of them were able to carry a relatively pleasant conversation regarding the material, Marinette couldn’t help but feel like it was strained. 

After classes were let out for the afternoon, Marinette stopped Adrien before he could leave, as he was still packing his bag. He wouldn’t look at her as he carefully rearranged his files and papers so they were supported by his books. She took a deep breath, and she made the plunge.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Adrien blinked. He looked up at her, confusion and apprehension clear on his face. “You didn’t,” he said softly. “I… There’s just a lot going on. Can I… Can I trust you?”

Marinette blinked. “Of course,” she replied, wondering what had him so undone. Adrien nodded firmly, zipped up his school bag, and waved for her to follow him out of the empty classroom.

They were intercepted at the door by Lila.

Biting back a groan, Marinette watched as the girl crossed her arms, looking them both up and down. She sighed dramatically. “Adrien,” Lila said sweetly. “I thought we were meeting today? For tutoring?”

“Actually, Lila,” Adrien awkwardly tried to move around her, but she shifted her weight to better block his exit. He swallowed thickly. “Marinette and I, uh, we have a school project to work on together. Maybe tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow will be too late!” Lila insisted, clasping her hands together and leaning forward, her eyes wide and pleading. Marinette bit the inside of her cheek. “We have that _big_ test tomorrow, and I want to do the best I can on it-”

“We already went over the material for that test, Lila,” Adrien said firmly, his eyes narrowing. “Remember? Last week?”

“Is there something wrong with wanting to make sure I’m as prepared as possible?” Lila tilted her head, and Marinette huffed. 

Both sets of eyes snapped to her. “You think there is?” Lila asked.

“I don’t,” Marinette conceded. “But Adrien and I really wanna work on our project, since it’s due Friday, and Rose told me that you haven’t been working with her. Maybe you two should meet up? You’re welcome to join us in the library.”

“Oh,” Lila pulled back, nervously clutching her bag. “Well, Rose and I were going to meet up tomorrow-”

“Before or after band practice?” Marinette pressed. “Rose doesn’t miss a single one if she can help it.”

“We were discussing that but-”

“Lila,” Adrien finally stepped in with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll help you before class, in the morning. Alright? Can you get to school early enough?”

Marinette could see her weighing her options: withdraw and remain in Adrien’s good graces, or continue to fight to get him alone. Every move she made was a calculated step on the figurative chessboard, and Lila was stepping carefully.

“That would be just lovely, Adrien.” She quickly stepped forward, kissed his cheek, and turned away all before either of them could react. “Thank you so much, it really means a lot to me. _Ciao!”_

Adrien rubbed at his cheek as she walked away. “Library?” He grumbled, and Marinette nodded.

Together, they found an empty, quiet corner in the third-floor library, pulled out their binders and textbooks, and got to work. They exchanged notes and details, Adrien reviewed what Marinette had put together for a presentation, and Marinette checked his grammar and spelling on the paper. Honestly, Marinette enjoyed this: working alongside Adrien was easy, once she set aside any residual feelings, and he was smart and had good instincts. He took criticism well when she suggested it, and she extended him the same favour. 

They pushed the mostly completed project away after an hour, sighing in relief.

“Was there something you still wanted to talk to me about?” Marinette asked him after a stretch of silence. “You… You seemed down, earlier.”

Adrien lifted a hand to rub his neck again, thought better of it, and laced his fingers on top of the table. “I think I messed up.”

Marinette blinked in surprise, but on the inside, she was worried. She rolled her pencil between her fingers, wishing she had a piece of paper to doodle on. “How so?” She asked.

“That girl… I went for it.” Adrien looked up and right at her, right _through_ her, and Marinette squirmed in her seat. “I kissed her.”

“O-Oh,” Marinette stuttered. “Congratulations.”

But Adrien was shaking his head, and Marinette felt her heart sink into her stomach.

“She wasn’t ready, and I pushed her. I feel like dirt.”

So that was why he had looked so tired lately. At a loss for what to say, Marinette reached up and gently patted his shoulder. Adrien smiled sadly as he looked up, and he laid a hand overtop hers to stop the patting. “Thank you, Marinette.”

“I’m here for you. Do you know what you’re going to do next? Have you talked with her?”

“I won’t get a chance for a few more days,” he confessed. “I don’t know what I’ll say to her.”

“Be honest,” Marinette urged him. “Your heart is good, your feelings seem genuine. I’m sure she’ll come around.”

Adrien glanced at her, and he laughed. “Couldn’t we say the same about you?”

“Wh-What do you mean?” Marinette fidgetted, pulling her hand away from his shoulder. She tilted away from him, even as he leaned forward a little more.

“You have a literal heart of _gold,_ Marinette. And your feelings were more sincere than mine, I’m sure.” Adrien smirked, but his face soon fell back into that fatigued, desolate expression he had been wearing all day.

Cautiously, slowly, Marinette raised her fingers again, and she brushed his hair out of his face, tucked strands behind his ears, and cupped his cheek. Adrien looked up at her through his bangs. Up close, Marinette could see the exhaustion in every angle, every line of his face: He was just as tired as she was. Was love running him as ragged as akumas were running her?

His eyes fluttered close, and he turned his nose into her palm to nuzzle.

It reminded her of that night on top of the tower with Chat, when she had done the same to his hand cradling her cheek.

“I think you’re sincere too,” Marinette said quietly. His eyes lazily opened, and he drew away from her as he sat back up in his chair. The quiet moment was gone. “You should talk to her.”

“Did you talk to him?” Adrien asked, and it took her a long while to figure out who he was referring to. Yet remembering her last time with Chat…

“I wasn’t ready,” Marinette mumbled, looking down in shame. “I hurt him. I thought I had moved on, but…it all felt too fast. If I’m going to choose him, I don’t wanna hesitate again.”

“You? Hesitate?” Adrien said with a chuckle. “I’m the one who holds back. You always go for what you want.”

Marinette didn’t bother correcting him. Instead, she stood up, her legs wobbling like a newborn deer’s as she swept her school supplies back into her bag. She handed Adrien his papers, and he took them with a frown, before he caught a glimpse of the time. He flinched.

“I didn’t realise we had ran so late, I’m sorry!” He stood up as well and started to round up papers and books. When he finished before her, and she was still looking at the table, Adrien reached out and grabbed her wrist.

“Marinette,” he said, soft at first. He cleared his throat. “Marinette, don’t let Lila get to you. And…I think you should talk to your friend, too. He could be hurting.”

Marinette twisted her arm and wrapped her fingers around Adrien’s wrist in turn. “And you’ll talk to your girl? You love her so much, I’m sure she’d be willing to explain.”

“Yeah, I’ll do my best.”

And she smiled, sincere and genuine, as she said, “And I’ll do mine.”

* * *

On Wednesday night, they met upon their usual rooftop, stared at each other, and sighed.

“Let’s get this over with,” Chat mumbled, and Ladybug agreed.

Thankfully, Alya Césaire was awake when Chat quietly tapped on her bedroom window. Above him, Ladybug dangled from her yo-yo wire, her feet against the flat’s wall to steady herself. Chat exchanged a few quiet words with Alya, and Ladybug seriously hoped no one was watching them. She kept an eye out on the street and the surrounding buildings, but there was no way she could see everything. And her red suit always stood out so much, someone could easily spot them-

“Buginette,” Chat whispered. He was already inside, and he was holding out a hand. “C’mon.”

Wearily, Ladybug descended a little more and took his hand. He helped her inside, and she stood, for the first time as Ladybug, inside her best friend’s apartment. She had always thought Alya would be more thrilled to have Ladybug in her bedroom, and while Alya was nearly vibrating in suppressed excitement, her face was grave.

“I’ve been tracking akumas,” Alya jumped straight to the chase. “I…” She hesitated, and Chat sat down on the edge of her bed, his shoulders slumping. 

Alya looked from him, to Ladybug, and back again. “You look… I’m sorry if this is too forward,” she admitted, sheepish. “But you both look exhausted.”

Ladybug flinched and rubbed the length of her yo-yo arm with her free hand. “Attacks are frequent,” Ladybug confirmed.

“It’s difficult to reorganise your civilian life around superhero work,” Chat said with a smirk that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “And akumas don’t wait for an appointment.”

“Have you thought about asking for help?” Alya asked, her voice shaking. Ladybug shook her head.

“We won’t- _can’t_ hand out any more miraculous, Alya.” Ladybug said firmly. “We’ll bring in individuals when we need them, but I cannot risk any jewels falling into Papillon’s hands. He already has two. I do not want to find out what he would do with more.”

Chat nodded alongside her, and Alya took a step away. Her eyes kept flickering between the two of them behind her glasses. “Alright, Ladybug,” she said. “I believe in you.”

“Thank you. You said you could help us?”

Alya walked to the other side of her room, and Ladybug’s eyes were drawn to the large map of Paris spread out before her. Slowly, she walked forward to stand beside her friend, but Chat stayed where he was on the bed - unlike her, he could probably see it just fine with only the desk lamp illuminating the space.

Blue eyes followed lines of strings and pins and pictures, strew across the map in seemingly random patterns, but Alya was already speaking out her explanation.

“I didn’t get this idea until recently,” she started. “On the train, the one that got transported into space. The akuma… She never asked for the miraculous. Not like all the others have done. I…” She pushed up her glasses, and Ladybug met her steady gaze. “I theorised that, maybe, Papillon wasn’t in contact with her because she was too far away.”

Ladybug frowned. “Then how was she akumatised?”

“It’s a train. Maybe the akuma snuck on board and got stuck, so when the train departed, it was travelling with us. Then it got loose, or someone freed it.”

“She’s got a good point, Milady,” Chat chimed in. “Maybe Papillon has a range?”

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking!” Alya said, thrilled that Chat had latched onto where she was going. “So I’ve been mapping out known areas of where akumatisations have happened. Going back through the archives of the Ladyblog and looking at footage, reports, anything I can get my hands on.” She then laid her hand on the map, a triumphant smirk on her face. “And sure enough, he has a range. It’s about five kilometres, give or take.”

“Are you able to triangulate?” Chat asked, slowly standing up and standing beside the girls, leaning forward with his hand on his chin as his cat eyes looked over the map. Ladybug watched him curiously; she was no good at maps or maths in comparison to her partner, but she understood the significance of what Alya had done for them.

“Nothing precise, but I have estimations.”

“Can we see them?” Ladybug asked, pulling out her yo-yo and opening it up. She started taking pictures of Alya’s map, her eyes following the lines of the Seine and the akumas that she recognised. Some didn’t stick out in her memory, but she could name most of them.

“The blue circle,” Chat pointed out. “Right?”

Alya nodded. Ladybug zoomed out, fit the circle within the frame of the lens, and snapped another shot. She lowered her yo-yo to examine the circumference the blue string created, mentally listing all the monuments and landmarks she could name within it. She paused.

Her own home was inside that circle. Her school, the park next door, and the multitude of flats surrounding it. The hotel where Chloé lived with her father, the Agreste Mansion, several homes of her friends…

Cautiously, Ladybug reached forward and ran her index over the block that contained the Agreste Mansion, the red of her suit a sharp contrast to the pale colours of the map. Alya narrowed her eyes behind her glasses, and Chat went shock still.

She chose not to say anything. In the back of her mind, Ladybug had a million questions for Master Fu, but until she was able to locate him, her suspicions couldn’t be confirmed. At the same time, the thought was already one they had entertained in the past - and the implication that Papillon had thrown them off the scent was too frustrating and embarrassing to confess.

“Milady…” Chat whispered, reaching out for her, but he hesitated. Slowly, he withdraw back into himself. Alya caught the motion and cleared her throat.

“I don’t have much footage of actual akumatisations happening,” Alya spoke up. “I have a few - but the butterflies are hard to capture on video, and it’s difficult to predict when and where they’ll show up, y’know?”

“We’ve noticed that he likes certain days of the week,” Ladybug admitted. “Saturdays, Mondays.”

“Monday mornings,” Chat grumbled. “I’ve noticed that he seems to have a job, though.”

Ladybug looked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Like, it’s always before school starts, right? Or its during lunch break. Or in the evenings. He has prior commitments during regular work hours, so he doesn’t akumatise people then. He probably has a job that keeps him occupied.”

“Well, that really narrows down our candidates.” Ladybug grumbled, crossing her arms. Chat glared at her, opened his mouth to retort, but thought better of it and turned away.

“Thank you, Alya. We’ll do our best to keep an eye out. Milady, I’ll wait for you up top.”

And he left through the window. Alya watched him go before looking back at Ladybug.

“What was _that_ about?”

Figuring that Alya didn’t need to know any more about their personal drama, Ladybug shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. What do you need from us?”

Alya didn’t press the issue. “Information, honestly.” She pulled up her own phone, flicking through the screen. “Do you have an email I can send questions to? Or a phone number? I think of things to ask all the time, but I never write ‘em down-”

“Not really,” Ladybug chuckled. “How about you tell me yours and I’ll contact you instead?”

Her friend eagerly danced in place, grinning brightly. “Ohh that would be so cool! Yes! You can call me whenever you like! Well, except when I’m in class, or on Tuesdays, that’s mine and Nino’s date night, and _maybe_ not on Sundays, depends on my mother-”

Ladybug giggled, and Alya stopped her ranting. “Sorry, sorry!” She said, waving her arms.

“Just tell me your email, Alya, and we’ll get it sorted.”

After typing in the email address that Marinette already knew but Ladybug didn’t, Ladybug said her goodbyes and zipped out the same window Chat had left through earlier. She joined her partner up on the roof, where he was perched like a grievous gargoyle, gazing out at Paris with glowing green eyes. 

She made to sit beside him, but suddenly, he stood up. Ladybug looked up at him, frowning. When had he grown so tall? Or had he always been tall, and she was just now noticing?

“We… We can talk now.” She said softly.

“Not here,” Chat huffed, and he leapt into the night. She sighed, but Ladybug still followed him across the city, trailing just behind him. His black suit was difficult to spot when he passed through shadows. But then a street lamp would cause his baton, or occasionally his bell, to glint and reflect back an orange flash, which Ladybug could easily track like shooting stars sparking and fading on the rooftops.

Their run was absent of their usual teasing, jokes, and banter, but it was far from tranquil. There was a tension between them, pulling and pushing them together and apart, and Ladybug feared that any civilian looking up would notice it. In combination with their performance during the last two akuma attacks, Parisians would think something was wrong between their superheroes. 

He came to a stop on the roof of a popular hotel overlooking an empty square. Further south, Ladybug could see the reflecting of the moon and city lights on the Seine, and to their left, the large western Rose Window of Notre Dame, colourful and shimmering in the night.

Together, they sat down as one, their shoulders and thighs brushing, yet a kilometre between them.

“You followed me tonight,” Chat started after several quiet seconds while she fidgeting. “But you left me before. Why?”

After her conversation with Adrien, Marinette had pondered long and hard about what to say to Chat Noir. Adrien had encouraged her to talk, and Ladybug wanted to talk, but she didn’t yet know what she wanted.

“I was scared,” she said, honest with both herself and him. “I didn’t… No.” She shook her head, stubborn. “I thought of someone else when you- when _we_ kissed. I didn’t want to hurt you. So I ran.”

He didn’t speak right away, but his voice wavered heavily when he finally did.

“I thought I had pushed you too far,” Chat whispered. He swallowed thickly and then hugged himself. “I thought…” A high-pitched sound escaped him, and Ladybug flinched. She reached up to try and comfort him, but he shook his head, blond hair ruffling.

“Your heart was recovering and undecided, and I wanted it for myself,” Chat revealed, his eyes lifting to meet Ladybug’s. Her breath caught in her throat. “Your heart is more precious to me than any jewel, any diamond, LB. And I’m mad at myself for treating it like anything less.”

“If I had a diamond heart, Chat,” Ladybug closed her eyes and looked away, holding back tears. “I’d give you all the love I could. But I’d be foolish to do that to you right now.” Bright blue eyes opened and looked right into green. Determination, she could read, and something else - longing? Obsession? Pain? “I can’t be with you if I’m still thinking of someone else. It’s not fair to you.”

“I’ll keep waiting, Ladybug,” he said, his soft voice not quite meeting the hard emotions in his eyes. “I’ve waited this long.”  
  
“I don’t _want_ you to wait for me,” she scolded him. Chat’s mouth twitched into a sombre smile. 

“I’m _drowning_ in an endless sea of love, Milady,” he explained, and Ladybug flinched, looking away. “I think I can hold out for a while longer.”

“Stop.”

“I can’t. If I had found a shore, I would've given _ma chatounette_ a chance.”

“You still should,” she choked out, still refusing to look at him. Chat laughed, but she thought it sounded hollow.

“She’s already moved on. There’s another boy in her life, someone who will sweep her off her feet and treat her like the Princess she is. It’s too late for me to be her Prince.”

“Do you want to be?” She asked, and his laughter dried up. His expression sobered.

“I… I would love to.” Ladybug ignored how her heart twisted. “I see now how absolutely amazing she is. I regret turning her down. But what am I supposed to do? Crawl back to her and demand her hand?” Chat scowled as he looked away, towards the cathedral. If he could actually see it through his tears, Ladybug wasn’t sure. His grip on his body tightened despite the warm, spring air. “No, I messed up. I’ve accepted that. I’m in the same boat as you.”

Ladybug toed a rock on the roof, watching it roll away from her. “You don’t want to be in a relationship with her because you don’t know if you can get over me. And I don’t wanna start a relationship with you, because I can’t get over him.”

Beside her, Chat chuckled dryly. “Seems like it. What a pair of idiots we are, aren’t we?”

She tried to smile, but it felt strained. Part of her agreed with him.

Despite the weight of the conversation, they seemed to have reached a middle ground. They watched the world turn around them, stars winking out from behind clouds, people running across the square, the chirp of a single cicada ringing out behind them. At some point, they sighed and curled up closer to each other, heartbroken and miserable, but otherwise at peace.

 _“Mon chaton,”_ Ladybug called quietly, her voice barely rising above the wind. Chat purred against her in response, his chest vibrating.

“Ask her out. Your _chatounette._ If she turns you down…”

Slowly, like an animal roused from sleep, Chat pulled back from her and watched her as Ladybug nibbled her bottom lip. His face was curious, expecting, but hopeful.

“If she turns you down, I’ll… I’ll give you a chance. A real chance.”

He blinked, surprised. Carefully, his face settled into a smirk. “And how would you know if I told you the truth, Milady?”

She already knew the answer. “I trust you,” Ladybug teased, pushing a finger against his nose. “You wouldn’t oppose a direct request from your Lady now, would you?”

Chat chuckled and shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“Do that. Give her an honest chance to come back to you.” Their hands found one another, and their fingers wove together. “I want you to find happiness, _mon chaton,_ but you should be happy as a civilian too. If you can find it with her… I want that for you.”

He was looking at their joined hands, and his grip tightened for a moment as a whimper escaped his throat. Slowly, and then, all at once, Chat hugged her, and she dragged him forward to cradle him until he was half-sitting in her lap. She tenderly stroked his hair, cooing and rocking and holding him as he tried not to cry - and failed. Ladybug could feel his tears against her neck and shoulders, and she wasn’t yet sure if she was crying too.

“I’ll try, LB. I’ll try my best.”

“That’s all I ask, Chat. All I ask.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might not have a chapter next week due to travelling. We'll see! If not, I'll be posting on the 10th.

**Author's Note:**

> [Come and join us on the Miraculous Fanworks Discord server!](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks)  
> We are a community of MLB fans who write, read, beta, collab, and even exchange fanfiction and fanart. We run events, Author AMAs, calendar prompts, writing and art sprints, and we even have a book club for fanfics! Come join over 500 amazing, supportive Ladybug and Chat Noir fans today!


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